SIX properties were severely damaged when a water main burst in Banbury yesterday.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service tackled the flood with police and Thames Water in Broughton Road.

Fire and rescue spokesman Owen Morton said firefighters were called at about 11.30am yesterday.

“The burst water main had flooded the road, with water affecting the basements of a number of properties along the street. Firefighters diverted the water away from the affected properties and have pumped water out of about 10 basements.”

Staff from Thames Water stopped the flow and were working on restoring the water supply yesterday evening.

Broughton Road will remain closed until Thames Water finishes its repairs. Oxfordshire County Council is attending to the needs of those properties affected.

Thames Water apologised and said everything possible was being done to get the supply restored.

“We’re sorry for the disruption caused by our burst pipe. We’ll do everything we can to get water supplies back to normal as soon as possible.”