Our crews were on site at 8:55am and thanks to their hard work the burst was stopped at 9:50am.
We received around 130 calls from customers about their water supply being affected by the burst, however, we managed to divert the network and by 10:08am service was restored.
Unfortunately, because of the amount of water lost during the burst there was some localised flooding in the Newburn area and we are working with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue service to pump the water away safely.
We have a team of people down there currently assessing any damage caused by the water to customers’ properties, cars, the roads and the bridge and offering people support.
We are working closely with Newcastle City Council to make contact with everyone affected and offer them any help required because of flooding.
Newburn Bridge and a section of Station Road, Newburn, is currently closed for pedestrians and vehicles to allow Northumbrian Water and Newcastle City Council to safely assess the damage to the pipework and check for damage to the bridge itself.
Once inspections have been carried out we will be able to assess the duration of the traffic diversions that will be in place from today.
Network Services Manager Andrew Blakemore said: “During incidents like this our priority is always our customers, their safety and making sure that their water is flowing and services are up and running.
“Thanks to the quick work of our response team we were able to shut off the burst pipe in just 55 minutes which, considering the severity of the burst and the amount of water, was a great effort and meant that the flooding was minimised as much as possible.
“It took 94 minutes from the first call into us about the incident to water being restored to customers, which again, is great resilience from the team, our assets and networks and thanks to the hard work of our technicians and people on the ground.
“We’d like to thank the residents in Newburn and the affected areas for their patience and understanding during the incident this morning and we’d also like to thank Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Newcastle City Council and the police for their ongoing assistance.”
Any customers affected can talk to our team on 0345 717 1100.