Major hospital affected by Oxford water outage

The problems are affecting the OX3, OX4 and OX44 postcodes

Work to restore water for some properties in Oxford is expected to last into the evening after people were left with low pressure or no supply at all.

Properties in the OX3, OX4 and OX44 postcodes have been affected by the temporary outage.

Thames Water said customers in the affected areas would start to get their water supply back fully this evening, but added that it could take up to 24 hours to return.

Those affected include the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital, which said it was experiencing low water pressure.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation trust, which runs the John Radcliffe, said it was “urging” staff, patients and visitors to conserve water.

It added that additional water supplies were in place, if required.

Thames Water said technical issues following the laying of a new section of pipe were to blame for the issue.

Three bottled water stations have been set up at Headington Car Park on the London Road, Oxford Thornhill Park and Ride, and OXSRAD Sports and Leisure Centre on Marsh Lane.

Initially, people living and working within the OX3 postcode, which covers Headington, Marston and Barton, were dealing with the issue.

But Thames Water confirmed the supply problems had spread to properties in Cowley, Blackbird Leys and parts of South Oxfordshire.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to customers in the Oxford area (OX3, OX4 and OX44) who are experiencing low pressure or no water."

“We know how inconvenient it is if you lose your water supply, so we’ll work hard to get things back to normal as soon as we can," the spokesperson added.