Shelves left empty after residents panic buy water bottles as burst pipe shuts off supply

Shoppers in Birmingham were restricted to buying just three bottles of water after a burst water main, which cut off supply, caused residents to panic-buy.

In scenes similar to those from the Covid pandemic, customers in Aston queued up outside nearby Tesco and Costco stores to stockpile bottled water this morning (June 14).

The clamour began after a pipe burst on Aston Hall Road, near the Star City entertainment complex.

As residents went to stockpile supplies, the Tesco superstore limited customers to three bottles per person.

Demand was so high that bottled water stacks were placed in all corners of the store to keep up.

Anwara Begum, 36, who was shopping for bottles with her mother, said:

"At 6am we had only a little water and thought it was just a small leak, then at 6.30am we went online and saw there was a burst water pipe. The school where we work, Manor Park Primary, was closed and they sent us videos of the flooding.

"I knew we had to buy water and we have been using whatever we have at home. My kids have not even been able to use the toilet but they washed their faces a little.

"Our house is not flooded or has water leaking in but some local houses are flooded."

Locals on nearby Kenilworth Road later said water was running again but was yellow and "mucky".

In a statement, Severn Trent, said:

“We’re pleased to share that customers in the affected area should now have their water back on, and our teams will now be focusing on repairing the burst pipe.

"As we’ve moved water around the network to get everyone’s water back on, this may caused some slight discolouration, we’d like to reassure everyone this is nothing to worry about and will clear.

"We know the burst has caused traffic issues in the area, and we’re sorry about this and we’re working closely with the council and emergency services to keep everyone safe but look to ease the congestion in the area also.

"We want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we worked to get the supply back on, and we’ll be doing everything to get the pipe fixed, and area back to normal as soon as we can."