Burst main sends jet of water 50ft into the air

A burst water main sent thousands of gallons of water into the air, covering neighbouring properties and leaving some residents without supplies.

Residents of Matson in Gloucester woke up to a "commotion" and saw water was shooting 50ft (15m) into the air above Winnycroft Lane, with bottles of water handed out by Severn Trent.

Christine Dix, a resident of Matson, said: "It's absolutely awful. We've never seen anything like this around here in 40 years. And it's a bit scary, to be honest."

Severn Trent said on Thursday morning that the burst main had been repaired after teams worked overnight to fix it.

The company said on Wednesday that the pipe was one of the largest in its network and staff worked to "carefully manage the flow of water" while maintaining supplies.

Ms Dix said she was first alerted to the incident by a neighbour at about 07:00 BST on Wednesday.

"When I got dressed and came down here to see what was going on, I was just flabbergasted," she said.

Ms Dix said one house behind the stream was "taking all the brunt" of the burst pipe, which was leaving a lot of water on roads.

Before the water came back on, Severn Trent warned it may be brown and low pressure when it returned, which is normal.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said on Thursday morning: "Our teams have worked through the night to complete this complex repair.

"Our priority was to keep everyone's water on and most customers were back on supply early yesterday morning.

"We have kept local residents updated throughout this incident and have been in direct contact with those affected to offer help and advice.

"Our teams would like to thank those living in the area for their kindness and understanding yesterday and as we continue working in their area today to get everything back to normal as soon as possible."

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