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A MASSIVE burst water main flooded part of York city-centre, damaged a road surface and caused major traffic disruption.

The southern end of Piccadilly was closed at its junction with Fishergate, with standing water across the road. Castle Mills Bridge was also closed as is Tower Street, to prevent traffic reaching the flooded area.

Lead Mill Lane is still closed and is likely to stay closed for sometime.

The restrictions on Coppergate and Lendal Bridge were lifted and although the diversions have now ended, motorists using those roads today will not be fined.

A burst 15-inch main at the junction of Lead Mill Lane and George Street caused water to flood down Lead Mill Lane towards Piccadilly.

Parts of the road surface were badly damaged by water forced out from under the road.

Water has flooded into the home of Lead Mill Lane resident Hayley Collins, 26.

She said: "My neighbour knocked on the door at about 10.20am. There was a bit of water on the road and he said we might need to stock up on water.

"The next knock on the door was a policeman."

Her front door was blocked with sandbags but they have managed to mop up water in the house with towels, she added.

Police and the fire service were both called to the scene.

At its height, four fire engines from York and a heavy volume pump from Harrogate were on site.

Watch manager Kevin Caulfield said fire crews had worked to keep water out of homes and had pumped flood water away from the roads into the river.

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said they were alerted at 10.50am and has so far heard from 26 customers who have either no water or low water pressure in their homes.

Engineers have been sent out, a company spokesman said, and have isolated the burst pipe and will now dig down to start fix the burst.

The company is aiming to have the work done today, but it is unlikely to finish place before rush hour this evening.

A spokesman for the company warned that people in York could have discoloured or milky water in their taps while the repair work is carried out.

"Running the taps should get rid of the discolouration, and there is more advice on our website," they added.

Anyone with problems to their water supply or flooding inside should contact Yorkshire Water.

City of York Council said it sent 200 sandbags to the area.

Head of Transport Tony Clarke added: “We’d like to thank all emergency services and Yorkshire Water for their quick response to yesterday’s burst water main. York has had it’s fair share of flooding in recent years and is well equipped to deal with incidents like this.” 

The burst is caused problems for First York services 3, 4 and 7. Routes were diverted but are now back to normal.