Sidcup runneth over

A hundred families had to be evacuated today after a burst water main sent torrents of dirty water flooding into their homes.

Residents woke up to find water gushing past their front doors in Sidcup, Kent, after streets in an area across two square kilometres were swamped by water.

Rescuers waded through the waistdeep water to help panicking families-until a flotilla of rescue boats could be brought to the streets.

Some houses were flooded up to a metre inside by the mains water which picked up mud, salt and rubbish as it poured down the roads.

The drama started at 4.30am when water company officials alerted residentsof the burst main. Firefightersand police helped householders put out sandbags in front of their homes, while a thermal imaging helicopter was sent in by London Water to find the exact location of the mains break.

Father-of-two Richard Morley, 37, whose home in Penshurst Avenue was flooded, said a neighbour alerted him by telephone early this morning as water was pouring down his street. He added: "We have been told that they are trying to shut the mains off, but the water level is still rising outside our homes.

"Most of the homes have sandbags to protect the front doors, but the water is now running through the air-vents at the front and under the houses to the back gardens. The water level in some homes is up to the level of downstairs windows. People have been standing outside their homes hoping more water won't go in."

The mains supply is believed to have fractured at the junction of three roads at Blackfen Road. It has severely flooded Penshurst Avenue and Burns Avenue. Homes in Wellington Avenue and Westwood Lane have been affected.