United Utilities say water is back on for the thousands of homes affected by burst pipe acrosss Penwortham, Longton and Hutton

At around 4am this morning, an 18-inch diameter pipe burst on Fishergate Hill at the junction with Broadgate, leaving thousands of homes across Penwortham, Longton, Hutton and Whitestake without water or low pressure with many schools also being forced to shut.

In an update at 11:50am, United Utilities have now confirmed that water supplies have been restored to all customers, whilst engineers are beginning the process of digging down to repair the damaged water pipe.

United Utilities say a team was quickly mobilised following the incident’s outbreak and they were able to isolate the pipe and divert water supplies through other parts of the water network by just after 7am.

Water pressure has gradually been building back up since then, and all customers now have water again at their taps.

Grant Batty, United Utilities Water Services Director, said: “We’re very sorry for the disruption this may have caused this morning. Our teams responded quickly and water started to come back on again within a few hours.

“Some customers may notice that their water looks slightly discoloured when it first comes back on. This can happen after we change the way water flows through the pipe network in order to bypass a burst, because sometimes naturally-occurring sediment can become disturbed in the system.

“This is only temporary, and it will gradually clear if people run the kitchen tap at a slow trickle. While the water might not look quite the same as usual for a short time, people can continue to use it as normal.

“We are continuing to liaise with the local authority while repair work continues on Fishergate Hill, and we will do our best to get the road back open as quickly as possible.”