Burst water main blacks out GMTV

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A burst water main in London Bridge forced GMTV off the air following a massive power cut.

The blackout meant presenters such as Kate Garraway had to have their make-up done by torchlight.

The main on Tooley Street burst at 0400 BST on Thursday, flooding an electrical substation. It is the second time the water main has burst.

Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital also had power supply problems but said patients had not been affected.

The power cut occurred about 20 minutes before GMTV was due to go on air at 0600 BST.

A back-up tape was played for about 10 minutes, before the presenters were able to start broadcasting live from the studio.

Engineers have been sent to Tooley Street to determine the cause of the incident.

"We're investigating what caused this burst but our main focus now is carrying out a thorough clean-up," a Thames Water spokeswoman said.

"The main will be fixed today and reinstatement of the road will take about a week. We apologise for the disruption road-users will face."