ABOUT 250 homes were left without water for nearly 24 hours after a water main burst in Chilton near Didcot.

A 10-inch pipe burst in Townsend at 6.45pm on Friday, flooding three roads and leaving hundreds without water.

Fire crews were called to Latton Close to pump out flood water. Sue Granger, 42, banked up sandbags aroundher doors after water started to seep into her garage.

The mum-of-three said: “The fire crews turned up just in time, my garage is fine but I was worried the water would get into my utility room which has all of my electrical white goods in. We’re at the lowest point in the road so all the water started pouring down our driveway.”

Next door, Londoner Doreen Norman, was looking after her four granddaughters while her son Steve was away.


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She said: “We watched it come creeping up from the other end of the road. As the water got closer and closer I started to get worried.

“When it came over the top of the drive and poured down that was quite scary.

“Everybody was working very hard to protect us and keep the water at bay, the neighbours were marvellous.”

She added: “The fire crews got all their pumping gear and channelled the water down the side of the lane.

“Water went into the garage but no worse than it would be in a heavy downpour. It didn’t do too much damage.

“It was quite an unusual, surreal experience.”

Thames Water handed out bottled water while its engineers replaced a 12m stretch of pipe with two 6m sections. The work finished on Saturday evening.

Company spokesman Martin Wells apologised for the disruption and said: “Everything is back to normal.”