Water supply returns to majority in Birmingham after major pipe burst

Water supply has returned to the “majority of customers” after a water main burst in Birmingham, utilities firm Severn Trent has said.

West Midlands Fire Service said water at the location of the burst in Sparkhill was expected to subside soon with repair work continuing into the weekend.

The incident has closed schools, flooded roads and left residents without water for hours after the 28 inch (71cm) pipe burst on Friday morning.

Councillor Nicky Brennan said that water was being distributed for impacted residents and water supplies should be turned on by midnight.

Stratford Road remained closed between Knowle Road and Bromyard Road, with other routes affected, the fire service said.

Severn Trent said that it was focusing on getting everyone else’s water back on quickly through valving and encouraged people to avoid the area.

Mughal Restaurant on Stratford Road served food and refreshments to the fire service and staff during the flood.

“Sparkhill community spirit is the best of Birmingham,” Ms Brennan said.

The fire service praised the restaurant for its “ongoing support” and for letting crews use their facilities which had helped “enormously”.

Staff at Springfield Primary Academy, Little Springers nursery and Greet Primary School said they had shut due to a lack of water.

Some residents told the BBC they had been without water for hours and a shop manager said he had been unable to open his store.

Street cleaner Mark Hadley said he had seen fridges and wheelie bins floating down the road.

He added that a nearby restaurant’s basement had been badly flooded and firefighters needed to pump out water.

The fire service said the first crew was at the scene shortly before 06:40 BST, arriving within two minutes of being mobilised.

It said a pump was in use as crews worked “to limit damage to properties and businesses in the area”.

Three fire engines were in attendance on Friday morning with specialist technical rescue firefighters also deployed, the service added.

A spokesperson advised people to avoid the area and adjoining roads and confirmed that the water was clean.

“It’s affecting water pressure all the way to Solihull, so it’s quite a substantial amount of properties affected,” said Ms Brennan earlier on Friday, before supplies were restored.

She added the fire service had acted quickly to pump water out of a nearby restaurant, Mughal-e-Azam, and without their efforts it would have been “curtains” for the business.

Sarehole Road, Shaftmore Lane and Bromyard Road were also affected, according to the service.

West Midlands Police and highways crews have been helping with traffic management.

Among affected residents was Surin Jadav, of Leominster Road, who said on Friday morning his property had been without water for four hours.

Martin Berry, manager of tile shop BC Ceramics on Stratford Road, said the situation was frustrating.

Mr Berry said he was unable to open the shop at 07:30 and he was also unable to go in to check damage.

The business had recently spent thousands of pounds on new displays and stock, he added.

National Express West Midlands said services 1 and 6 were diverted in both directions and advised passengers to allow extra time for their journeys.