Burst water main repairs stall after 'void' found

21 minutes ago

Aurelia FosterLondon

News image — About 50 people and three dogs were rescued in inflatable boats

London Fire Brigade A street lines with houses and flooded. A boat is being led down the road by three men in high viz. A dog is in the boat. — About 50 people and three dogs were rescued in inflatable boats

Work to repair a burst water main that flooded a road in north London has stalled for safety reasons after engineers found a "significant underground void" and a "large split", a water company has said.

The pipe burst on Tuesday afternoon, flooding a section of Caledonian Road in Islington, leaving homes and businesses without a water supply.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called to the scene and rescued some 50 people as well as three dogs.

Thames Water has apologised and said engineers had worked overnight to access the damaged pipe and were pumping water out of the area so repairs can begin.

The flooding affected a 350m stretch of Caledonian Road from the junction with Twyford Street to the junction of Thornhill Bridge Wharf.

Josef Fiala, an employee at Howdens kitchen showroom on Caledonian Road, said the moment water began rushing into the store was "terrifying".

"It happened so fast. Within a minute, the water rose to pretty much above my knees. It was scary, I'm not going to lie.

"People were panicking and they didn't know what was going on."

Fiala told BBC London he has not been able to access the shop on Wednesday as the electricity supply had been disconnected.

A warehouse with an open door. A man is walking out of it holding a bucket. — Local business owners have used buckets to clear water from their premises

Thames Water said the power supply was cut off for safety reasons following the flooding.

According to UK Power Networks, 173 properties remain without power.

The flood water has largely been cleared, although the section of Caledonian Road remains closed.

Customers' water supply should also be betting back to normal, Thames Water said.

"All customers should have their water supplied restored although they may experience some intermittent loss of pressure whilst we carry out the repair, which will be complex,"a spokesperson for the firm said.

"Our teams worked overnight and made good progress with the excavation to reach the damaged pipe.

"We are also working with UK Power Networks to restore electricity to affected properties as soon as it is safe to do so."

Customer representatives and loss adjustors are to attend the site to help those affected by the flooding, the spokesperson added.

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