All of a sudden water started seeping through pavements

Rory MacLeod

People were trapped in shops and pubs along Byres Road as a torrent of water cascaded down the street.

Nearby Hillhead Underground station was closed, but trains were still running.

A spokesman for West of Scotland Water said that the area's water supply had been switched off for a "short time".

"It is a burst pipe in a 36" main and it has caused localised flooding in the area of Byres Road and Great Western Road," he said.

Part of the road has collapsed

"We treated it as an emergency incident and got emergency crews there as soon as we could.

"This could have happened at any time to an old or a newly-installed pipe. It's like a burst tyre."

However, West of Scotland Water speculated that old age was probably to blame for the burst.

The company added that most of the water had drained away after the leak was stopped.

Rory MacLeod, who saw the flood begin, said: "All of a sudden water started seeping through pavements.

"Within 20 secs the whole junction was under water. I was surprised by how quickly it all happened."

A Glasgow Underground cashier is carried to work

He added: "There was a man in front of me who had a pram - I saw him move frantically to get his child out of the way of it."

Mr MacLeod, who works near Byres Road, said he had seen workmen digging up sections of road in the area over the past few days.

Charlie Carmichael, who is a street seller of fruit and vegetables also saw the drama unfold.

He said: "I've never seen anything like it in my life. The whole place is devastated. Shops are closed. It's like having a river running down the main road."

The flood came on the day that MSPs approved radical proposals to overhaul Scotland's water industry.

More than �2bn of investment in new pipelines and treatment works over the next four years is needed to bring the country back up to new European standards.