Thousands of homes left without water following burst pipe in Telford

Severn Trent said the pipe burst around 4am today in the Brookside area of Telford, causing issues for customers in the TF7 area, with people living in TF3, TF4 and TF8 also affected.

The 21-inch pipe is underground and close to a high pressure gas main which means the repair is a complex procedure.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said: "While we've had some success with getting customers back on by moving water around our pipes in a different way to normal, and by using a fleet of 16 tankers to inject water directly into our network, we have to be careful doing that to minimise the risk of causing issues with the network as a whole. As people in the area have been off supply for some time now, we're looking into the possibility of providing bottled water that customers can collect from a central point.

"Our work may result in lower pressure than normal for some customers and there is the possibility that supplies may be a bit murky, which is nothing to worry about and is just a result of the way we're moving our water around the pipes, although we understand that you might not want to drink it. We understand that the murky water is also affecting Shifnal but this should clear in time and is related to the Telford burst.

"Our call centre teams are working hard to answer everyone's calls but volumes are quite high at the moment so it may take longer than normal for us to answer. Our headquarters teams have also been in touch with our priority customers, who might not be able to get out to the shops or who might need water to live, to make sure they have all the water they need. We've also been in touch with local care homes to make sure they've got all the supplies they need.

"We know how important it is to have water, especially when everyone's at home over the weekend, and we're doing everything we can to get things back to normal as quickly as possible."

Telford & Wrekin Council is assisting Severn Trent with the distribution of bottled water to anyone affected by today's water supply problems.

Bottled water is available from:

- Tesco Madeley car park from 4pm
- Museum of the Gorge car park, Ironbridge from 5.30pm

Telford & Wrekin Council says that teams expect to be in these locations until the evening.

Updated: Water problems continue in Telford as poor weather makes repair work difficult

Water board and other staff working hard in the rain to supply water to Madeley. Thank you @stwater @shropshirelive @ShropshireStar pic.twitter.com/PR9uDRZhY4 https://twitter.com/AndyShropshire/status/912000370049716229

Scene at Madeley for the thirst for water @shropshirelive @ShropshireStar pic.twitter.com/aM8M9FIO6N https://twitter.com/AndyShropshire/status/911984619746205696