GALLONS of water up to eight inches deep turned a city road into a "river" after a major pipe burst.
Up to 80 homes and businesses were left without a water supply for about three hours after the incident yesterday afternoon in Lower Dale Road, Normanton.
Shop owners in the area said they lost out on business after the water main burst 2pm yesterday, causing difficulty in crossing the road.
Habib Ahmed, owner of Medina Pharmacy, said the water had destroyed stock he keeps in the cellar. He said: "This building used to be a pub so we have a low-level cellar. When there's been bad rain before it has flooded, so when I saw water rushing down the road I knew what would happen.
"We went into the cellar and started mopping it up straight away. But some of the stock we put in the cellar, non-medicinal things like nappies and hair dyes, have been ruined. I'll be able to claim it back on my insurance but it's a real hassle."
Mr Ahmed said that once Severn Trent Water arrived he was given sandbags.
He said: "But customers couldn't cross the road to get to my shop because the water was too deep."
Ahmed Ali, who works in Aroshop, said he could not believe it when he saw the volume of water rushing along the street. He said: "It looked like a river.
"Some of it entered my shop because some drivers were going through it quickly and it was splashing in."
Another shop owner, Mohammed Haroon, of Normanton Meat Centre, said customers had also struggled to cross the road through the deep water to get into his shop. He said: "It was really terrible. The water came up to the top of the pavement and I was worried it might flood in."
Sarah-Jane Dean, a spokesperson for Severn Trent Water, said the company apologised to customers for the problem.
She said: "Our priority was to restore the water supply to customers so we worked as quickly as possible to bring water in from other areas.
"Customers would have seen a change in the colour of their water for a short period of time, but it was perfectly safe to drink."
