UK Plumbing - water shut off value covering?

That is the water company's valve, you should have your own just inside the boundary of the property or in the house and another one below the kitchen sink. Often the company valve can shut off water to several houses.

isn't there some kind of stop cock or pipe that leads to your house with a tap on it ??

most city homes have maids fed water mate.

there must be another little cover hatch thing, that runs from the mains fed pipe directly to yours and its here that you can  turn it off i think.

if that doesn't work hire a fecking professional aka a plumber ^_^

lol

some houses have an external valve for the entire house located just where the water line enters the house itself. depending on age, inside [basement or crawl space is a likely location], or outside [likely under a round cover about 45 cm from the house wall, or actually embedded in the wall itself.].  would help, mate, if you told us how old this house is ...

That has to be the stopcock. Use a hexagon socket and a long bar to turn it clockwise for off. Be gentle with it as I doubt it needs much effort to turn the water off and you don't want to damage it.

majority of stop valves in pavement have a T head ..but i own a turn off with a hexicon head ..only ever used it once ...never come across similar since ..and i live in severn trent area!..normally when you open up a modern one it has a round piece of polystyrene to remove first ..valve two feet below that 

I would think that you need to prise off the cover to see what's underneath.

I showed this to my husband, he said you need to phone Severn Trent for instructions. Sounds like nothing he has come across before.

UK.