Street turned into river as pipe bursts

A street through a Shropshire village was turned into a "river" after a water pipe burst.

Up to 300 homes in Prees, near Whitchurch, were left without water after the pipe burst at 3pm yesterday.

Residents said the flooding happened quickly and submerged Moreton Street and front gardens, leaving dirt and debris in its wake.

Bosses of Severn Trent said the time supplies were affected for was "very, very brief".

Resident Layla Anna-Lee said: "Local builder John Waldron decisively took steps to ensure all those around him were notified and was soon filling bin liners with sand from his building site to place in front of damp doors as an obstruction to the rising water level. His quick-thinking, aid, and remedy were much appreciated.

"The Severn Trent workers could only sit in waiting as head office sorted out shutting off the main. In their defence, the water was shut off almost as quickly as it had burst and the river that was Moreton Street soon died down to reveal the dirt and debris left behind.

"Front gardens were submerged and one witness could see water steadily trickling in to an unattended home."

Andrew Marsh, spokesman for Severn Trent, said: "We had our first call at about 3pm. We had households losing supply because of a burst main. We have now re-zoned the supply.

"That means we divert water from other parts of the system and bring it back into the neighbourhood that is affected. We apologise to people who were affected."

He said it is unclear how many homes lost their water supply, but all but 13 were reconnected by 5.30pm yesterday.

The remaining homes were reconnected by 9.48pm.