THOUSANDS of homes and businesses were left without water after a main burst in Winsford town centre on Monday morning.
Just hours before flood warnings were lifted following torrential rain, the 12in pipe burst at around 6.45am.
Verdin High School, Willow Wood Primary School and High Street Primary, were among the schools forced to close.
A borough council spokesperson claimed “the majority of homes and businesses” were affected.
A spokesman for United Utilities said the supply to 7,000 homes was back on in less than three hours. The company aimed to reconnect every home by 5pm on Tuesday.
“We received a report of the leak and our engineers arrived on site as quickly as possible,” he said.
“Upon arrival they discovered the leak had occurred on a main situated on a roundabout. The engineers shut off the water supply to begin carrying out the repair and re-routed water from other areas on the network.
“Our engineers worked throughout the night repairing the leak. This has been a difficult repair to undertake due to the location and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Verdin High had only just recovered from the deluge when it was hit by a small fire in a fuse box, closing the school for a second day running.
At the time of going to press the school was expecting to be open today.
