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Southend flooding: Burst main gushes water into homes and roads

Richard Knights/BBC A digger at Priory Crescent in SouthendRichard Knights/BBC
Essex and Suffolk Water said residents would experience low pressure because of the burst water main

Homes have been flooded after a large water main burst in a residential street.

Engineers have been carrying out repairs after firefighters were called to Priory Crescent in Southend-on-Sea at 16:45 BST on Wednesday.

Pictures and videos on social media showed water gushing out of the ground and flowing into some properties.

A Met Office yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been in place for much of England, including East Anglia.

The burst water main caused flooding in Southend

Schools and museums in Bedfordshire were closed and two lanes of the M11 southbound near Harlow were shut - both because of flooding.

Greater Anglia said a train service between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport was terminated at Bishops Stortford because of heavy rain flooding on the railway line.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, a 32-year-old company director from Shoeburyness, who passed the flooding in Priory Crescent on Wednesday evening, said: "The gradient of the road meant the water flowed all in one direction, so the immediate area towards Priory Avenue looked pretty flooded.

"People were standing outside their houses."

A section of the road remained closed for repairs.

Richard Knights/BBC Engineers in Priory Crescent in Southend-on-SeaRichard Knights/BBC
Engineers switched the water main off in Priory Crescent in Southend-on-Sea

An Essex and Suffolk Water spokesperson said its teams worked "all through the night to isolate the burst".

They added: "The water main has now been switched off, but due to the size of the pipe, repair work is still ongoing.

"There was some localised flooding to a small number of properties in the area and we have customer teams in the area to support and help any residents impacted by the flooding."

Essex and Suffolk Water A map of affected properties by Essex and Suffolk WaterEssex and Suffolk Water
A map from Essex and Suffolk Water showed properties affected by low pressure in Westcliff, Chalkwell and Prittlewell

The company said properties might experience low pressure and discoloured water on Thursday, and advised customers to run their cold downstairs taps until water runs clear.

An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said crews worked to divert water away from properties on Wednesday night and left the scene at 01:12.

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