Cheltenham schools close due to burst water pipe

Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre has been affected

Ten schools have closed because they have no running water following a burst water pipe.

Supplies across a large part Cheltenham went off on Thursday morning, affecting secondary and primary schools as well as homes and businesses.

It is due to a burst water pipe in Brookfield Road, which has flooded a field.

Severn Trent Water said the GL51 and GL53 postcodes were affected and a team was working on the issue.

Steve Jefferies, head of Cheltenham Bournside School, said: "We started to notice there was no water pressure and at about 07:55 BST we e-mailed parents to tell them to keep their children at home until they had heard from us.

"At about 08:20 we had to confirm the school would be closed for the day."

Head teacher of Balcarras School Dominic Burke added: "We had to work quickly and make the decision to close the school.

"We do have some water tanks at Balcarras but they don't feed the whole school, so you can't operate the school's toilets without running water.

"You couldn't bring in 1,300 children into a school until you know you've got water."

Severn Trent Water said on its website: "Our team have located the burst pipe on Brookfield Road.

"The team are on site and are already hard at work with the repairs and are hoping to have everybody back on supply as soon as possible.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

Gloucestershire County Council said the schools affected were:

• Balcarras School

• Belmont School

• Bettridge School

• Charlton Kings Infants Academy

• Charlton Kings Junior Academy

• Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre

• Glenfall Community Primary School

• Leckhampton C of E Primary School

• Shurdington C of E Primary School

• Warden Hill Primary School