HUNDREDS of school pupils have got extended Christmas holidays due to the sub-zero weather which forecasters are predicting to be part of the coldest winter in 100 years.

Primary schools near Belleek are to remain closed until Monday at least due to treacherous roads preventing safe passage to school.

St John the Baptist, Roscor, St. Davog's, Belleek and Belleek Controlled Primary School are due to be closed throughout this week. Buses are unable to run in the district where minor roads are considered dangerous in the icy conditions.

And yesterday, St. Martin's Garrison, St. Mary's, Brollagh and St. Fanchea's in Enniskillen were some of the other schools that were closed.

The prolonged freezing temperatures have resulted in burst and frozen pipes causing misery in homes and other schools closed over the holiday, with some households also losing water supply due to burst water mains.

While 47 schools across the Western Board area were affected by frozen or burst pipes over the holiday period, the Board was unaware of any school unable to re-open this week due to water damage.

Fermanagh schools affected by frozen pipes over the holiday period were Jones Memorial Primary School, St Mary's Teemore, Derrygonnelly Controlled Primary School, Holy Trinity Primary School, Newtownbutler Primary School, St Aidan's Derrylin and Maguiresbridge Primary School. "The Western Board's emergency help line logged 108 calls between December 22 and January 3 with School Building Supervisors and Board Maintenance Officers acting quickly to stem any water flow and conduct emergency repairs. To date, the Board is unaware of any school unable to re-open due to water damage. The emergency helpline continues to operate for out-of-hours assistance," said a Board spokesman.

As for the headache of getting to school on icy roads, he added: "The Board's transport service operates subject to extreme weather conditions. District Transport Officers are assessing local conditions and will make any decisions impacting on services accordingly." Householders, in older properties in particular, have been experiencing burst pipes, bringing misery over the Christmas and new year period.

Plumber and Enniskillen Councillor Pat Cox said it has been the worst freeze he has seen since 1962. "81 was a rough year too," he said.

"It all started at 8pm on Christmas evening with a house at Cavanacarragh. The water was coming down through the kitchen, hall and hotpress.

It has been every day since. I have been going out since that," he said.

Main problems encountered have been burst pipes. The job has called him out around Enniskillen, Belcoo, Boho and Tempo although things have improved this week.

"People have been caught on the hop," he said. Simple measures like opening the trap door into the roof space to allow warmer air to circulate can make a big difference," he said.

The problems are occurring in houses that are more than 35 years old due to the presence of insulation between the beams immediately above the ceiling. This traps warm air in the house but can mean attics are freezing cold, leading to burst pipes. Newer homes have their insulation just below the roof.

Fermanagh has also been one of areas most affected by burst water mains, cutting domestic water supplies. Burst pipes affected water supplies in Drumkeeran, Ederney and Tattenbar, Lisnaskea. The Trillick area has also been severely affected.

"Our Customer Relations Centre received a significant number of calls from customers who had experienced bursts or leaks within their own property and private supply pipe-work. NI Water then advised that all keyholders in Strabane, Omagh and Enniskillen areas to return to their property and check any vacant or isolated properties/outbuildings for bursts or leaks. Homeowners are responsible for the pipe work within their own property".

By the beginning of this week, NI Water said that all customers are now back on supply.

"NI Water received nearly 14,000 calls over the period Sunday, December 27 2009 to Sunday, January 3. At the peak of the problems, more than 200 staff worked day and night to repair over 50 burst watermains, isolate private bursts, deliver over 60,000 litres of bottled water to customers and tanker water to service reservoirs.

"We would like to reassure the public that while the immediate water supply problems in the north and west have been addressed, our teams of staff will continue to work hard in locating and repairing burst pipes," said a spokesperson.

With the cold weather set to continue, followed by thawing, the threat of burst pipes remains.

"We would ask all customers and keyholders to check their properties, including vacant properties, for leaks and we are urging all farmers to check the drinking troughs on their land for bursts. We would also ask that customers DO NOT run their taps unnecessarily - this can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water per day per customer," the spokesperson added.