mains stopcock

[robbie007]

could some one help. i have to turn my water off at the mains on the path outside my house to work on the faulty stopcock in my hous. the stop **** inthe road is quite new and is not like any other i have seen. it is plastic and has a handle that comes up .it says on. i have tried turning this handle but it is solid .do i need to loosen the nut that is in the middle first. any help will be great.

[gasman]

You should quite easily be able to turn it, it will probably be a white plastic rectanglular looking quater turn type. About 1 inch in diameter you may be trying to turn the wrong bit of it...

[EDLEE]

Here in the states they have, for as long as I can remember, used stops with a five sided nut. It's purpose was to prevent tampering ( mostly turning back on after a shutoff for nonpayment). Perhaps they have started that in the UK too.