Homes, shops hit as water main bursts

London Evening Standard/London

Residents in Herne Hill woke to water up to about 3ft deep in places, leaving cars and vans half-submerged. People living in Half Moon Lane were urged to stay in their homes until the water cleared, while fire crews used boats to get around the flooded area.

London Fire Brigade said between 30 and 50 homes and businesses were flooded after a water pipe burst at about 5am, with the damage affecting properties on Dulwich Road and Milkwood Road as well as Half Moon Lane.

Receptionist Fran Graham, 25, said: “It was just completely surreal, I’ve never seen anything like that before. It just looked like the whole area was under water. It’s awful. All those lovely shops, I feel awful for them.”

Another resident said: “I didn’t know immediately what was going on. It looked like a river. It was like being on an island.”

Crispin Sugden tweeted dramatic pictures of the scenes with the caption: “My flat now comes with a waterside view.”

By late morning the water had receded but the road was still closed to traffic. The surface was covered in silt and business owners were left to begin the clean-up operation. The Half Moon pub was said to be badly affected, with the basement flooded.

Grocer Grant Fox, 46, who runs the Fruit Garden, described the area outside his shop: “Around the drain there was a whirlpool going really high. We couldn’t come in here at all. Around the Half Moon pub it was chest high. Our fridges have all blown.”

Carlo Lepore, 50, who co-owns Ye Olde Bakery, added: “We’ve lost a whole day’s trade. Luckily it’s not sewage water so I think we got off lightly.”

Brixton Fire Station manager Bruce Grain, who was at the scene, said: “Our crews are well equipped to deal with floods, and we will be helping to clear water out of basements, homes, and local businesses.”

A Thames Water spokesman said: “A three feet-wide water pipe burst and caused substantial flooding to the road and 36 properties in the area. Our main priority is to get people’s lives and businesses back to normal.”