Burst pipe affecting 10,000 fixed - Southern Water

A major pipe burst which left up to 10,000 homes and businesses without water has been fixed, a water firm has said.

Southern Water confirmed its teams "worked through the night" so homes affected on the Isle of Wight could have their water restored.

People in Shanklin, Wroxall, Newchurch, Alverstone and Rookley were impacted after a main at Blackwater, near the River Medina, burst affecting Cooks Castle Reservoir.

The water firm apologised, said most properties would have had their water back overnight but added two bottled water stations would open at 08:00 GMT "as a precautionary measure".

The stations will be based at Morrisons in Sandown to all customers, while Co-Op in Shanklin is for pedestrian traffic only.

A spokesperson for Southern Water explained the bottled water was delivered through the night to customers on the priority services register.

Stephanie Davidovitz, head of water networks and customer water operations, explained teams were able to "bleed any airlocks" as water was slowly reintroduced into the network.

She added: "Most customers will already have had water restored overnight and any remaining properties are expected to be back in supply later this morning.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and thank customers for their patience while we repaired the problem."

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