Burst water pipe floods homes in Swindon
WATCH: Video shows water gushing out from underneath the pavements as a water main bursts in Swindon.
A burst water main in Swindon has left several families needing to leave their homes for at least a month, after it caused major flooding.
It happened underneath the Great Western Way dual-carriageway near Barnfield on Thursday 6 August.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service was called at 6.41 am, where firefighters had to pump water from houses on Meadow Road.
Thames Water managed to isolate the leak in around three hours. Now six households in the area have to live elsewhere for a month while the damage is repaired.
David Cousens said his "entire house" is flooded, with potentially "thousands of pounds" worth of damage to equipment in his office. Fortunately his family members are safe but, he said, "just found out we can't live in our house for a month!!!"
David is now staying in a hotel with his wife and three young daughters.
Police in the town had to close the Great Western Way between the Barnfield and Bridgemead roundabouts because of the water, warning drivers to expect delays for several hours.
They then re-opened one lane while repair work was carried out.
In a statement Thames Water said: "We’re really sorry for what’s happened and our priority is supporting those people whose homes have been flooded.
“Our insurance team has been speaking to customers to assess the damage and each individual resident’s needs and we’ll do everything we can to get their lives back to normal as soon as we can.
“Our engineers were able to stop the flow of water earlier today and are now working hard to fix the pipe.”
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