Water fountain from burst pipe closes road

A fountain of water from a burst pipe has closed a major Oxfordshire road.

The fault on the A4130, between Wallingford and Didcot, sent water shooting about 30 to 40ft into the air.

It was reported near the Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary at about 05:30 BST.

Thames Water engineers are carrying out repairs and have stemmed the flow of water, but the company said the road would remain closed to traffic until it is safe to fully reopen.

A resident, whose nearby garden is flooded, told the BBC that Thames Water initially told her workers could attend within about 22 hours.

However, the situation has since been upgraded to an emergency, and engineers arrived within two hours of the call.

Resident Phil Keable, whose parents live next door to the sanctuary, said the water was "over the place".

"It's flowing down into my parents' driveway, all through the gardens and it's about ankle-deep," he said.

"They've closed the road on both ends which is good but traffic, as usual, is piling up at both ends and everyone is having to turn around."

Thames Water said the burst part of the water main had been isolated and repairs continued to be carried out.

"The excavation has had to extend closer to the centre white line than expected, so it will not be safe to reopen the road with two way lights," a spokesperson said.

"The road will therefore remain closed to traffic until it is safe to fully reopen."

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