CHIGWELL: Burst leaves 200 homes without water

11:49am Tuesday 22nd July 2008

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TWO hundred homes were without water for nearly 24 hours after a pipe burst, flooding the area.

The block, on the Limes Farm Estate, in Chigwell, was described as a “swimming pool” by the district council after the mains water burst.

Sandbags were provided in case the water reached higher levels but luckily no homes were flooded.

Neil Green, of Copperfield, said: "For several hours water gushed out the ground and cascaded down the residential car park and almost entered two homes."

Thames Water turned off the supply to reduce the flooding, leaving people without a water supply.

District council housing officers were on site until 1am (on Wednesday, July 16) helping to sort out the problem.

A council spokesman said: "Water has gradually gone down in the courtyard leaving a layer of silt behind which we will need to clear up... no damage occurred to cars in the courtyard. We still need more drain clearance but everyone's water supply was restored."

He added: "The housing office courtyard block was like a swimming pool. The fire brigade kept water level down from the bungalows."

Thames Water engineers have now repaired the main.

A spokesman said: "Thames Water engineers were on site quickly to repair the main. Full supply was restored to affected properties at around 3.30pm. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this may have caused."