Cars submerged in dramatic floods and homes left without water after major pipe burst in North East

Cars were been submerged and homes left without water after a major pipe burst in the North East.
Pictures by Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue of the flooding at Newburn BridgePictures by Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue of the flooding at Newburn Bridge
Pictures by Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue of the flooding at Newburn Bridge

Emergency services are working to deal with the floods after what Northumbrian Water describned as a major incident around Newburn Bridge in Newcastle.

Northumbrian Water said it was first alerted to the situation when customers reported a loss of supply at 8:34am this morning.

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Crews were on site by 8.55am at the scene of the burst on the north side of the Newburn Bidge near the abutment.

"Our crews were on site at 8:55am and thanks to their hard work the burst was stopped at 9:50am," said a spokesman for Northumbrian Water.

"We received around 130 calls from customers about their water supply being affected by the burst, however, we managed to divert the network and by 10:08am service was restored.

"Unfortunately, because of the amount of water lost during the burst there was some localised flooding in the Newburn area and we are working with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue service to pump the water away safely."

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The company said it had a team assessing any damage caused by the water to customers’ properties, cars, the roads and the bridge and offering people support.

The spokesman said: "We are working closely with Newcastle City Council to make contact with everyone affected and offer them any help required because of flooding.

"Newburn Bridge and a section of Station Road, Newburn, is currently closed for pedestrians and vehicles to allow Northumbrian Water and Newcastle City Council to safely assess the damage to the pipework and check for damage to the bridge itself.

"Once inspections have been carried out we will be able to assess the duration of the traffic diversions that will be in place from today."

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Network Services Manager Andrew Blakemore added: “During incidents like this our priority is always our customers, their safety and making sure that their water is flowing and services are up and running.

“Thanks to the quick work of our response team we were able to shut off the burst pipe in just 55 minutes which, considering the severity of the burst and the amount of water, was a great effort and meant that the flooding was minimised as much as possible.

“It took 94 minutes from the first call into us about the incident to water being restored to customers, which again, is great resilience from the team, our assets and networks and thanks to the hard work of our technicians and people on the ground.

“We’d like to thank the residents in Newburn and the affected areas for their patience and understanding during the incident this morning and we’d also like to thank Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, and Northumbria Police for their ongoing assistance.”