Schools closed and homes flooded on estate

Residents said water started gushing at about 06:00 GMT

A burst water main has flooded a housing estate and forced the closure of several local schools.

More than ten homes on Gerrard Street in Kirkholt, Rochdale have been affected.

United Utilities has turned off the water supply and sent engineers to make repairs.

Janet Brooks said the flooding was "just horrendous" and added that the street had suffered repeated problems with burst pipes in the last five years.

Janet Brooks said the area had been hit by flooding from burst mains before

About 12 properties saw their gardens and ground floors flooded when the water main burst.

The flood water has since drained away, but Holy Family Roman Catholic School, St Mary's Primary School and Sandbrook Community Primary School have all shut due to the lack of water supply.

United Utilities has apologised to customers and sent tankers to help keep tap water flowing.

"But some may notice they have low pressure or no water whilst the repairs are being carried out", a spokesman added.

United Utilities has turned off the water supply while trying to repair the main

"At about six o'clock I just woke up, looked out the window and it was just full, everywhere," said Shani Walker.

She said her hallway and part of her living room was filled with "dirty water".

Burst water mains are a "reoccurring problem" in the area, she added.

People said the gardens had been left a muddy mess after the flood

Meanwhile, her neighbour Ms Brooks agreed, and said floods like this had happened many times before.

She said her porch, carpets and living room, and all of her garden had been damaged

"Burst pipes – that’s all they say – well they need to replace the pipes don’t they."