Gardens were flooded today after a water main burst on a busy Wickford road.

The leak, in Runwell Road, started outside St Mary's Church and flowed downhill to walkways and residents' front gardens.

Problems with water leaks were also reported in the Swan Lane area last night.

Essex and Suffolk Water network maintenance engineer John Lawne said he had received the report of the leak last night.

Although there were a few other emergency calls to deal with, the problem was expected to be sorted out promptly.

Mr Lawne said the water authority was normally legally prevented from starting repairs before 9.30am, but because Runwell Road was "traffic sensitive", repairs were carried out from early in the morning.

The burst was just one of 11 similar incidents across Essex, with frost and ground movements cited as reasons for the problems.

There was an accident further up Runwell Road after the main burst. A lorry and two cars were involved, blocking the road, but there were no injuries.

Flooded - the very wet scene at Runwell Road

Picture: LUAN MARSHALL

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.