East London burst pipe leaves thousands of homes without water

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]]> Residents across large parts of east London are without water following a “major burst” in a pipe.

People in nine postcodes have no water or low pressure after a main ruptured in Hackney Marshes on Tuesday afternoon, Thames Water said.

Some locals have complained that bottled water in shops is sold out and that being unable to wash their hands is creating a coronavirus risk.

]]> Thames Water apologised but warned the supply could be affected for 24 hours.

“We’re prioritising vulnerable customers and hospitals and will be arranging bottled water stations for the morning,” it added.

The burst main has hit areas of the capital including Barking, Forest Gate, Leytonstone, Ilford, Plaistow and Stratford.

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]]> ‘Significant disruption’

People on Twitter said the shelves in some shops had been cleared of bottled water and reported panic buying in supermarkets on Tuesday evening.

One tweeted: “Family members coming back from work struggling to at least wash their hands. Supermarkets and shops are being emptied by those who have cars and can get quantities of bottles of water.”

Thames Water said it was “deploying all resources to fix this as a priority” and had brought in tankers to pump water into the network.

“However, due to the size and scale of the burst, we are expecting significant disruption to water supplies over the next 24 hours,” it said.

“We know this has happened at a very difficult time and sincerely apologise.”

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