Oxford water supplies to be restored after Heyford Hill pipe burst

Thames Water said work was progressing

Water supplies are set to be restored to hundreds of homes and businesses in Oxford after a water main burst.

The pipe at the Heyford Hill roundabout burst early on Tuesday, leaving the road submerged.

Thames Water previously said it was fixed and supplies were expected to be back on by Thursday evening.

But the water firm said due to "technical difficulties.... we anticipate things should be back to normal overnight".

Thames Water, which received 940 calls on Wednesday related to the issue, said the section of pipe, near the Heyford Hill roundabout on the Oxford Ring Road, was fixed at 01:00 on Thursday.

The statement added: "We've completed repairs overnight but technical difficulties mean the supply network is taking longer to refill than we'd expected - we anticipate things should be back to normal overnight.

"We are now in the process of refilling the reservoirs. To ensure the pipe network remains stable we have to do this at a steady pace.

"Customers in lower areas will see their supplies restored before those in higher areas."

Water flooded the roads around the roundabout

Oxford City Council said it expected supplies to return first in Milton Common, then Horspath and Thame, and hoped all properties would have water by early Friday.

"Work to make good the highway and road surfaces in the affected area is planned for Friday but traffic disruption is expected into Sunday," it added.

The A4142 Eastern Bypass eastbound remains closed from Heyford Hill to Rose Hill roundabout for water maintenance causing severe delays.

The council has urged people to avoid driving into the city as the road closures mean "many roads are congested".

Temporary bottled water stations remain in place while supplies are off

The water firm said three bottled water stations, for those with no supply, would be in place on Thursday.

• Tesco in Ambassador Avenue, Oxford, OX4 6XJ

• Asda in London Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1YZ

• Cattle Market Car Park, North Street, Thame, OX9 3BJ

A fourth site at Horspath Cricket Club, Oxford Road, OX33 1RT (on foot only) has now closed.

Thames Water said it was working to support "households in vulnerable circumstances, schools, and farms with livestock".

Ben Greaves, from Castle Hill Farm in Wheatley, said he "started to panic" when he was initially told on Wednesday he may have to source his own water.

The farm of about 500 cattle and 500 sheep can go through more than 10,000 litres of water a day.

A tanker of water was delivered to Castle Hill Farm in Wheatley on Wednesday evening

A Thames Water contractor eventually delivered a tanker of water on Wednesday evening.

Mr Greaves said: "They were very good at explaining how to sort yourself out domestically, but collecting bottles of water to water this number of animals is just not feasible, so nobody seemed to understand the severity of the matter.

"If cattle go without water for six or seven hours you start to see them getting uneasy and they all queue up round the water troughs, and there's a lot of fighting that goes on to get the last drop."

Oxford City Council said deliveries of bottled water had been arranged so schools and nurseries could reopen - but according to the council's school closures webpage several remained shut on Thursday.