Internet giant Level 3 sprung a leak yesterday at its Braham Street data centre in London. According to emails leaked to El Reg, the water may have damaged customer kit although so far Level 3 has declined requests to explain exactly what happened or how many customers were affected.

Instead, we have to rely on an email sent out yesterday afternoon which said: "A leak has been detected from the 2nd Floor to the 1st Floor in the London Braham Street Facility. The water has now been stopped and cleaning work is under way."

It went on: "Water leak might affect customer cabinets on the first floor."

So, what caused the soaking? A hole in the roof? Dodgy plumbing maybe? Apparently not. Insiders have told us that the "leak" was due to the centre's sprinklers being accidentally set off.

Asked to shed some light on the matter, a spokeswoman for webco told us: "Level 3 does not comment on operational issues outside of its customer domain." ®