Dashcam video appears to show flooded Kent road day before devastating Swanscombe cliff collapse

Dascham footage of Galley Hill Road a day before the dramatic cliff collapse

Footage obtained by ITV News appears to show flooding on a major road just a day before it suffered a devastating landslip.

Water appears in the video along the A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe, Kent with a Thames Water spotted engineer on site.

The recording was made on Sunday ahead of a dramatic cliff collapse on Monday which destroyed a warehouse below and caused serious disruption to the water supplies and internet connections.

Michael Hulme, who drove on the affected road over the weekend, is among many residents who claims the water firm was aware of the leak, and says the A226 is plagued with broken pipes,

"Everyone was making a running sort of joke about it. 'When's the next big leak going to be?' I know people were putting canoes up on social media saying, 'Oh, Thames Water are now supplying all the residents with canoes', as a joke. But it's a lot more serious than that now.

ITV News Meridian's James Dunham reports on the havoc the cliff collapse is having on the Swanscombe community

"We saw two big major holes and then just adjacent to that near opposite was another big hole with another leak. So three big lakes on either side of the road.

"The road was a complete sort of river in a way, because all the water was just coming down the hill. The two big holes we had to avoid because you could see where the water was just pumping up."

Thames Water has confirmed that its engineers were called on Monday, the day of the landslide, to reports of a large burst pipe 150 mm in diameter.

Engineers were on site on Wednesday trying to establish the cause of the landslip and the company is yet to respond to claims the leaks weren't being handled properly.

While investigations take place the mains has been switched off meaning almost 600 homes are receiving supplies from giant tankers pumping water into the system.

Meanwhile companies, like electrical solutions firm Muranda Electrical Services in the Northfleet Industrial Estate, are having to deal with the perils of being without water and internet.

The organisation uses a cloud based system and so quotes are unable to obtain and trade is being lost.

Managing director John Palmer said, "I've got eight staff that basically can't do anything so I've got those wages to find.

"It's going to be very frustrating for us in a market that is very competitive and getting the actual quotes into our systems from clients is difficult.

"It's a real tight market. This will be a blow to us. We've got no chance of getting any feedback on those quotes or finding out if we can be successful on that work."

A Thames Water spokesperson said, "On Monday 10 April, we responded to reports of a large burst water main on Galley Hill Road (A226).

"Our engineers have shut off the water supply from the affected mains pipe and we are keeping local customers’ taps flowing using tankers. We are also exploring options to move water around our network to help keep them in supply. 

"There are engineers on site today investigating the cause of the landslide. Our teams will repair the pipe when it is deemed safe to do so. 

"The police have closed the road and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to local residents and motorists during this time."

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