Kidlington primary schools shut due to burst water main

Schools and a leisure centre were forced to shut due to the problem in Oxford Road, Kidlington.

Some 2,000 households were left without water at around 5.30am, with some not getting their supply back until around 2.30pm.

Thames Water staff have been on site all day and will continue to work into the weekend.

Temporary traffic lights are set to be removed during this evening's rush hour but will be put back again later. 

The company said it initially reduced the number of properties affected to 1,400 by changing how water flows around the pipe network in the area. 

At 2.30pm, spokeswoman Becky Trotman said: “We’ve now been able to restore water to the area affected by this morning’s burst pipe and, while we still have further repair work to do, we’re able to do it without turning the water off.

"To help reduce traffic delays during rush-hour we’re going to take away the temporary traffic lights during the peak period and put them back again this evening so we can carry on working safely. We expect the work to be finished over the weekend.”

This was the scene this morning 

Thames Water has made bottled water available and was delivering supplies to people's homes, if they were unable to visit the leisure centre. 

Water could be seen pooling on the side of the road as orange jump suit-clad workmen carried out repairs. 

West Kidlington Primary School was one of those affected and had to close for the day. 

A notice posted on the school's website said: "Due to a burst water main near to the school, we are having to close the school on Friday 8th February.

We've been informed that Kidlington and Gosford Leisure Centre will be closed today due to a damaged main water pipe. For more information and the centre's contact details, visit their website: https://t.co/sYyCzGlC0o

— Cherwell Council (@Cherwellcouncil) February 8, 2019

"We have no working children’s toilets. We’ve been given no assurance that the water will be ready by lunch time as we hoped to have a delayed start.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience but this was out of our control. Thank you for your understanding."

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School also shut.

North Kidlington Primary School and Edward Feild Primary School were unaffected and opened as usual.

West Kidlington Primary School which is shut today. Picture: Ed Nix

Gosford Hill School was partly affected but some areas of the school retained running water and it was able to open as usual. 

At around 11am, the school said its water supply was restored. 

We are currently experiencing issues with the water supply as a result of a burst main in Kidlington. The school is fed from two water mains. The water main that comes into the front of school is down and Thames Water has confirmed this is likely to be for most of the day. (1/3)

— Gosford Hill School (@GosfordHill) February 8, 2019

But Kidlington and Gosford Leisure Centre was forced to close to customers and became the base for distributing emergency supplies. 

Several readers contacted the Oxford Mail to tell us they were experiencing problems with water pressure or lack of supply. 

Earlier Thames Water spokeswoman Becky Trotman said: “We’re sorry for the disruption caused by our burst pipe on Oxford Road this morning.

"We’ve managed to restore water to most parts of the affected area and are now planning our repairs so we can get supplies back on for everyone else."