Thousands without water and roads closed after burst pipe

Thousands of homes in parts of West Sussex have water supply issues and a number of roads have flooded after what police are describing as a "significant" leak.

Roads around the Southgate Roundabout in Crawley have been closed on Sunday morning due to the burst water pipe, Sussex Police said.

Southern Water said around 9,000 customers were impacted and it was setting up bottled water stations.

A company spokesperson said: "Our teams are on site and working as quickly and safely as possible to repair the burst and restore supplies."

The company said customers were experiencing a loss of water supply or low pressure in the following areas - Woolborough Road, Holmcroft, Southgate, Tilgate and Furnace Green.

It reported at 12:00 BST that supplies had returned to some homes.

The Southern Water spokesperson added: "Restoring water to customers as quickly as possible remains our highest priority."

John Boulton, who is 82, and his partner are without water.

He said: "It's pretty disgusting, really - we pay so much for the water supply."

Boulton said he had just paid £22 for bottled water in a shop.

Southgate Avenue, Crawley Avenue and part of the A23 are currently closed, according to Southern Water.

Sussex Police has asked that people avoid the area while emergency services manage the situation safely.

The County Mall shopping centre in the town has been temporarily closed due to the water outages.

Martin Lawrence was making deliveries in the area at 05:00 BST.

He told BBC Radio Sussex: "I came across this massive flood going across the road.

"There was a large amount of water going from one side of the roundabout to the other and going into an underpass.

"I've never seen so much water in my life."

Resident Ryan Beck said: "We have no water pressure in the upstairs of our house.

"And all the underpasses are flooded."

Southern Water says when supplies return, water may be discoloured or have bubbles in it.

The company says this is normal and discolouration usually clears once the network settles.

If the water is cloudy and white, customers are urged to leave it in a glass for a few minutes to see if it clears, as it could be trapped air.

If the water if brown or black, people are told to run their tap for a few minutes and it should clear, and to try again after 20 minutes if it does not work the first time.

Southern Water says it is fine to use supplies as normal once it runs clear.

The company said a chlorine smell or taste was also "perfectly normal" and came from small amounts that remained in supplies.

Customers are also being urged to run their taps for a short amount of time to help bring through water, as there could be air locks in pipes.

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