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Thousands of homes without water Thousands of homes without water
(about 3 hours later)
About 15,000 properties in south London have been left without water on what is one of the hottest days of the year. About 15,000 properties in south London were left without water for about seven hours on what was one of the hottest days of the year.
Thames Water said a major water main burst on Merton High Street in south-west London on Sunday morning, cutting supplies to customers.Thames Water said a major water main burst on Merton High Street in south-west London on Sunday morning, cutting supplies to customers.
Engineers were at the scene of the leak but Thames Water has warned it could take until the evening to restore a full supply. Engineers managed to fix the leak and supplies were back on by mid-afternoon.
The company apologised for the and asked customers to remain patient. Some shops had to ration bottled water after people rushed for supplies as temperatures rose to about 30C.
Temperatures in London on Sunday could rise to 28C in sunny and dry conditions. Kingston, Merton, Wimbledon and Surbiton were among the affected areas.
Tesco in Kingston brought in rations of 12 two-litre bottles or three five-litre bottles of water per customer.
'Absolute disaster''Absolute disaster'
The worst areas affected are the KT1, KT2, KT3, KT6, SW17, SW18, SW19 and SW20 postcodes. Bart Ricketts, a borough councillor in Kingston, said: "Sainsbury's in Surbiton was nearly sold out of water when I went there at 2pm.
A spokesman for Thames Water said people who have special needs, for example those with young children or people looking after the sick or elderly, could call Thames Water's customer services. "Families needed water even more in the hot weather but fortunately it wasn't off for too long."
Chris Gleeson from Raynes Park told BBC London: "I just went to the bathroom and turned on the tap to find no water, so I haven't been able to have a shower or flush the toilet. A spokesman for Thames Water had earlier apologised for the inconvenience and said people with special needs, such as those with young children or people looking after the sick or elderly, could call the company's customer services for advice.
Thomas Hoskins, who lives in Wimbledon, south-west London, earlier told BBC London the problem was an "absolute disaster on a day like this".
Chris Gleeson from Raynes Park said: "I just went to the bathroom and turned on the tap to find no water, so I haven't been able to have a shower or flush the toilet.
"We do have bottled water so we've had a cup of tea this morning but it is causing real problems.""We do have bottled water so we've had a cup of tea this morning but it is causing real problems."
Thomas Hoskins, who lives in Wimbledon, south-west London, said it was an "absolute disaster on a day like this". The incident also caused travel disruption with Merton High Street closed in both directions while the burst main was repaired.
Roads in the Merton area have been closed due to the burst main. South Wimbledon Station was shut due to flooding but later reopened.
South Wimbledon Station was shut due to flooding but has now reopened.