Southwark station closed: Dramatic flooding and residents without running water as burst water main sparks chaos

A burst mains pipe has hit water supplies to hundreds of homes and offices, closing a busy Tube station and turning the streets into a “swimming pool”.

Southwark Underground , which serves the Jubilee line, was shut early on Tuesday morning as firefighters and engineers battled to stem the torrents of water and evacuate residents from the area.

Footage from the scene showed streams of water raging outside the transport hub shortly after 5am.

Bus routes were diverted as specialists worked for around an hour to repair the rupture to the 36in pipe and begin restoring mains supplies.​

Southwark flooding - In pictures

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A large section of Blackfriars Road has been shut between Southwark Street and The Cut due to the flooding. TfL has confirmed the surrounding roads will remain closed for the rest of the day.

It is unclear when the Jubilee line station will reopen, with commuters directed to Waterloo to access the Underground.

Some 20 nearby properties are known to have been affected, with piles of debris and rubble left lying on the streets.

Danny Sutcliffe, 55, wore plastic bags on his legs as he carried his wife Vicky out of their house. He told The Standard: “It was pretty much knee deep. The water was literally gushing out.”

Meanwhile, Twitter users shared dramatic footage of the incident, while residents across south-east London have complained of having no running water.

“We have no water but THERE'S AN IMPROMPTU SWIMMING POOL OUTSIDE SOUTHWARK STATION,” tweeted one user.

“Crazy scenes outside Southwark tube station this morning. Water pouring out of the ground!” commented another.

“Drama at Southwark this morning. 8ft sink hole,” another wrote.

It came as hundreds of homeowners reported their water supplies had been hit. One Thames Water representative told a customer: "All South East postcodes are affected by the mains water burst within the area. We've got a team on site looking into this now."

A spokesman for the utility company told the Standard they had received 250 calls from customers in the two hours following the pipe rupture.

He said they apologised to all those affected and were "working to get this fixed as quickly as possible.​"

An earlier statement from the supplier said: "We're sorry to anyone who's been affected by a burst to a 36-inch diameter pipe on Blackfriars Road.

"Our engineers are currently on site to isolate the burst which will stop the water and then we can fully assess the impact."

A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokeswoman told the Standard three of its crews were working alongside Thames Water and police at the scene.

She said: “LFB got a call from police at 5.09am on Tuesday morning following a burst main pipe.

“Our crews are working to assist with the evacuation of residential properties and using sandbags to stem the flow of water.

“We understand the issue has ruptured a section of roadway outside Southwark Underground station, and a 30x30m section of The Cut has now been cordoned off.

“We have three station commanders with pumping appliances on the scene, and may need to engage in pumping residential properties if the situation persists.”

The spokeswoman added: “I’m not sure if the affected roadway includes the cycle superhighway, but I know how many cyclists use the path every day, so that could spark major issues for commuters this morning."

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