London Road partially reopens after flood

One lane each way is now open on London Road between Stubbington Avenue and Kirby Road.

Temporary traffic lights have been installed and the road is not expected to fully reopen for four days.

The flood happened at about 12.30am yesterday causing flooding on the street and ‘severe damage’ to the road surface after a water main burst.

The response was swift, with engineers starting repairs on the road shortly afterwards.

Penny Berglund, manager of the The Fountain Sports Bar in London Road said: ‘It was like a little river down here last night.

‘I came outside to see what all the fuss was about and got drenched.

‘The water main itself was like a fountain, water was just pouring out of it everywhere.

The flooding caused the road to be ‘structurally unsound’ and piles of mud were seen being washed away yesterday morning.

Wayne Davis, who runs Chi Coffee with his wife Jane in the road, added: ‘We didn’t hear a thing in the night which was quite surprising as we live above the shop.

‘It is mad that it happened.’

Ian Limb, spokesperson for Portsmouth Water said: ‘Our staff were on the scene straight away and thanks to their efforts and hard work the disruption in terms of water supply to customers was minimal.

‘Severe damage was done to the road itself causing it to be structurally unsound.’

Engineers are still carrying out the repairs this morning and the road is likely to be partly shut until Monday.