Water leak affects supply to more than 1,000 homes

A burst water main in a field has affected the supply to 1,100 households, an MP has said.

The overnight leak near the Swinford toll bridge at Eynsham, Oxfordshire, has "deteriorated more quickly than expected", Thames Water reported.

The firm has set up a bottled water station at Sainsbury's in Witan Way in Witney and said it would open a second station on Thursday at a location to be announced.

The problem is mainly affecting homes in north Witney and North Leigh, according to MP Charlie Maynard.

However, he added in a Facebook post: "There is a strong possibility that more households will be without water from around 11pm over a wider area including all of Witney, Carterton and Minster Lovell."

In a further post from the Witney MP at 20:30 GMT, a Thames Water worker said: "We're hearing people are experiencing low pressure, not really no water at the minute."

The Liberal Democrat added: "Over in Eynsham, there is a diver in a crater right now... and they're putting a collar round the pipe."

In a statement, Thames Water said: "We are very sorry for the disruption this incident is causing and understand how worrying and inconvenient this situation will be for customers affected.

"We're currently responding to a critical burst water main in a field next to Oxford Road, OX29.

"This 800mm main feeds the reservoirs that supply... postcodes OX7, OX18, OX28, OX29, GL7."

In a later update at 21:30, the firm said: "The damaged section of pipe has now been successfully isolated.

"Our crews will be working overnight to carefully excavate around the damaged section of the 800mm main so that permanent repairs can be safely carried out."

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