VIDEO: Yorkshire Water apologises after 'severe water main burst' sent torrent of water roaring down street

The incident caused traffic chaos and also wrecked Internet and telephone connections in the town and beyond.

And yesterday, workmen were carrying out a clear-up operation after several gardens in Lynton Drive were left covered with silt and debris.

The 30ins diameter water main at the top of Lynton Drive ruptured at about 3.30pm on Wednesday and sent a huge flood, including stones and debris, down the road and onto the A650 below.

It then flooded a BT telecommunication base, closing down phone and internet connections for several hours in Shipley and Baildon.

That also briefly prevented late night shoppers in Shipley Asda from paying with cards until engineers solved the problem.

The leak was first reported by former printer Phillip Buckroyd who had gone to fetch something from his wife Laura's car at about 3.30pm.

"She's a teacher and I'd just gone to get some books for her when I saw water was pouring out over next door's property and into the road.

"I immediately called 999 because it was gushing out, but was then told to call Yorkshire Water.

"Initially they said someone would be along within two hours, but then police officers arrived and got them here a lot quicker," Mr Buckroyd said.

"It was finally turned off at about 8pm. We were very lucky, we didn't lose electricity and only had a bit of damage to our garden, but our neighbours' wall was brought down and other gardens have been ruined," said Mr Buckroyd, who only moved into Lynton Drive eight months ago.

Teacher Lisa Chadwick-Firman lives next to two of the worst-affected houses where residents were temporarily evacuated during the flood.

"It was Niagara Falls pouring over garden walls and down the road," Mrs Chadwick-Firman said.

"The water was several inches deep and the noise of it was deafening.

"At one point I thought my car was going to be swept away.

"The flood has knocked down garden walls and flattened a couple of back gardens," she said.

The problem occurred when the huge main, which connects a reservoir to a water treatment works ruptured due to underground movement, a Yorkshire Water spokesman said:

Last night, a Yorkshire Water spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to any customers affected by the severe water main burst on Lynton Drive in Shipley.

"We worked quickly and closely with emergency services immediately after the incident to evacuate any customers affected and managed to isolate the burst, preventing the escape of any more water.

"Colleagues from Yorkshire Water and our contract partner then completed door to door visits offering sandbags as required. We also offered to re-home any customers in need of relocation and arranged for emergency electrical work to be completed.

"Today the focus has been on continuing to assist any customers in need of our assistance, clearing up at the scene of the burst and working with a structural engineer to assess the condition of structures in the area."

WATER RUSHING DOWN LYNTON DRIVE - PICTURES BY T&A READER MOHAMMED ZUBAIR

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