NORTHWICH residents and businesses were without water for more than 24 hours after a series of water mains bursts struck the town.

Supply was disrupted across the centre of Northwich from 4.30am on Wednesday to around Thursday lunchtime, affecting colleges, shops, offices and houses. And as urgent repair work continued into Thursday morning, rush hour traffic ground to a halt.

Helen Wilson of United Utilities said: 'We had terrible problems locating the burst. We knew it was on either London Road or Brockhurst Way, but the water main was over 4m under the road, which caused location and repair problems.'

The original burst was repaired by about 6pm on Wednesday, but work continued because of two further leaks. 'The first leak caused a pressure change through the town's mains, which targeted weak points elsewhere in the system,' Ms Wilson said. 'We rerouted supplies so many people had water by 8pm.'

Among those affected was Sir John Deane's College, which had to send home 1,200 students, teachers and support staff on Wednesday morning. Assistant principal Andy Sumner said: 'This was an unusual situation and our priority was to ensure that all our students were able to get home safely by ringing parents and arranging lifts, or using taxis.'

Ian Lister, of The Hair Shop on London Road, was angered by what he saw as a breakdown in communications. He said: 'We had to turn customers away all Wednesday morning. But despite the loss of business, no-one has spoken to us.'

It is thought the burst was a result of wear and tear on the cast iron mains.