Gallons of water in the road

Hundreds of gallons of water poured through the streets and drivers faced rush-hour chaos after three water mains burst in quick succession in Oldbury.

A 12-inch main ruptured in Bromford Lane at 3pm yesterday followed by pipes in nearby Spon Lane and Dawes Avenue bursting at 2.30am and 4am today.

Rush-hour traffic ground to a halt, roads were closed, temporary traffic lights installed and buses cancelled following the problems last night and this morning.

The chaos mirrored scenes in Oldbury Road, Rowley Regis, and Dudley Port, Great Bridge, earlier this month.

South Staffordshire Water today said the winter freeze had contributed to the pipes cracking, as well as the initial burst in Bromford Lane, affecting water pressure in the surrounding roads.

Spokeswoman Alex Martin said a special piece of pipe was now being made to fix the main in Bromford Lane and the road was expected to remain closed until Saturday.

Two-way temporary traffic lights were installed in Spon Lane to allow repair work to go ahead on the six-inch pipe and were due to be removed later today.

The four-inch pipe in Dawes Avenue was fixed in the early hours.In Bromford Lane, water and debris flooded down the street and Bromford Lane and Bromford Road were closed.

Rush-hour jams began to form in West Bromwich, Oldbury and Smethwick last night and returned again this morning.