City street flooded by burst water main

A residential street has been flooded by a burst water main.

Chester Road in Sunderland has been closed while engineers repair the leak at the Western Hill junction.

Bakhtiar Ali, who owns the Sultan Halal Superstore, said the street had flooded before but on Tuesday evening the water was just a few centimetres away from entering his shop.

Northumbrian Water said crews had been working throughout the night to "isolate and repair the burst".

Mr Ali said when he tried to leave the shop on Tuesday he had to pull his jeans up to his knees.

"It happens every six months," he said.

"We have a drain just outside the shop but it has been blocked for five years."

A video circulating online showed Chester Road covered in water, with the flood reaching nearby houses.

The water has since receded but Northumbrian Water said its crews were still at the scene fixing the pipe.

"There has been no impact on our water supply to our customers in the area and we are aiming to have the repair completed today," a spokesperson for the company said.

"The road junction is closed temporarily to allow the repairs to be carried out quickly and safely. Please find an alternative route."

Northern Powergrid also confirmed the flood had caused an underground cable fault which led to power cuts for 110 customers.

"Our teams have now permanently repaired the fault, and all customers are now back on supply," the company said.

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