Witnesses describe '˜little river' as London Road floods

Engineers are working to repair a section of the major Portsmouth road after the main burst just before midnight last night.

The water has caused structural damage to the road and has led to piles of mud clustered up on parts of the street but nearby businesses have largely been unaffected by the incident.

Penny Berglund, manager of the The Fountains 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.

‘Our pub has largely been affected as we haven’t had any problems getting access to our water and while the flooding came close to our door, it luckily stopped just before.’

The pipe is believed to have burst just before midnight with Portsmouth Water and Hampshire Constabulary arriving at the scene shortly afterwards.

Heaps of mud were being cleared away from Kirby Road this morning.

Wayne Davis, who runs Chi Coffee with his wife Jane in London Road added: ‘We didn’t hear a thing in the night which was quite surprising as we live above the shop and we do feel quite lucky that we were not flooded.

‘The majority of the water had probably gone by the time we came out on to the street at about 7am this morning.

‘It’s mad that it’s happened.

‘However, we would like to praise Portsmouth Water for keeping us updated throughout the works. They’ve been a great help.’

Scott Donnelly, who manages the Tesco Express store on the corner by Montague Road said the store sustained no structural damage or water problems despite the main bursting right next to their front door.

He said: ‘We feel very lucky right now. We’ve managed to get through it unscathed.

‘The authorities have been great, they were here right after it happened and have done a good job in preventing more damage from happening.’