Flood update - water supply restored

Southern Water managed to repair the leak and clear the flooded A259 by 4.30pm on Tuesday, when the road was reopened to traffic.

Thousands of bottles of water were distributed to thirsty residents at Asda in Ferring while the emergency repair work was underway, and Southern water provided a meals-on-wheels service for its vulnerable customers.

Southern Water alerted the fire service to the incident at 5.43am and East Preston station sent out one fire engine to pump away excess water.

The eastbound carriageway of the A280 Angmering bypass to the roundabout with Titnore Lane was closed throughout the day causing severe delays to traffic.

Engineers managed to isolate the problem and stem the flow from the burst 24-inch main pipe, before re-supplying homes via an alternative 18-inch water main.

A Southern Water spokesman said the burst pipe could have been caused by one of a number of things such as ground movement or sudden pressure in the pipes.

Trevor Clark, Southern Water’s head of water supply, apologised to customers and thanked them for their patience while repairs were carried out on such a hot day.

A statement from Southern Water released on Tuesday evening said: “Some customers may still be experiencing lower pressure than normal and there may initially be some air in supplies so we advise customers to let the tap run for a short period before using it.”

Because of the incident, the following schools closed for the day: West Park CofE First and Middle School, Thomas A Becket First School, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Palatine School, Oak Grove College, Heene CofE First School and Goring-by-Sea CofE First School.