Popley flooding: Burst water main on Shetland Road

Footpaths and roads around Timor Close and Gilbert Close are affected after a pipe burst.

Eyewitnesses say they saw a lamppost shoot up from the pressure of the water bubbling up from the ground.

The burst pipe is on Shetland Road, which is currently closed as engineers try to stem the problem.

It happened at around 6.30am on Friday, although South East Water say tap water supplies should not have been affected.

Paul Griffiths, who lives on Timor Close, said: "A lamppost shot a foot in the air! Luckily, the water hasn’t got into the house.

"We phoned the fire brigade because there was an electric thing in the middle of the road and there is a school nearby. A lady who was running by called the police.

“The car park, you could have boated across. 

“It’s nobody’s fault, these things happen. It’s just wear and tear and they can’t replace stuff because they are busy repairing it. It was very impressive how quickly South East Water got here, they seem really nice and they said they are going to clean it all up, we won’t even know it happened.

"Everybody has been really good, you can’t fault them. 

“A bit of excitement for Timor Close!”

Jill Cox, 72, was also hit hard as water ran down the slope to her street. Her street is not only experiencing the flooding from the mains pipe on Shetland Road, but she also had a hole in the ground outside her own home, as there was previously a leak from her own water tank. 

The Gilbert Close resident said: “This is the third time this has happened. The first time it came through the houses, it was like a fountain. Then we had another one six years ago and the water was really strong - so this is better in comparison! 

“My neighbour had been trying to call me, but I leave my phone off at night. So the first I heard was my husband saying have you seen all the water out here? Then I saw the mud, it was everywhere.

“Why have they not dug the whole lot up and put new pipes in? This keeps happening. It’s really getting on my nerves.

“The amount of trees on the grassy verge [on Shetland Road], the root system there is unbelievable and they’ve got to go somewhere so they could be coming under the road and into the pipes.”

SEW's distribution manager, Paul Mann, said: "We are really sorry to our customers whose property has been damaged as a result of the burst water main this morning.

“Our teams are on site and we are doing all we can to help our customers and working as quickly as possible.

“The burst water pipe will be repaired as soon as we can and tap water supplies in the area should not have been affected.

“Unfortunately leaks and bursts do happen on our high pressure, extensive underground network and sometimes this does result in damage to property.

“We know it is very distressing and will do everything possible to support our customers and repair any damage.”