A burst main in Letchworth left hundreds of customers without running water yesterday – with Morrisons in the town centre struggling to meet demand for the bottled stuff during the drought.

The Comet: Affinity Water had the main repaired by 5.30pm.Affinity Water had the main repaired by 5.30pm. (Image: Archant)

The main at the corner of Norton Way South and Meadow Way burst at about 7am, and repairs concluded at around 5.30pm.

Water was diverted from other areas in the meantime to provide some water at a lower pressure than normal.

Journalist Jane Fae tweeted: “Burst water main, so no coffee anywhere! ILoveHitchin are luring people to Hitchin with promises of water – do something, quick!”

Maddy Harwood said: “Still no water in our area of Letchworth – thank goodness for Netflix.”

Many decamped to the shops to stock up on bottled water during the repairs. The town centre Morrisons confirmed to the Comet today that they had sold out of two-litre bottles yesterday, though smaller bottles were still available.

An Affinity Water spokeswoman said today: “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by a burst main in Letchworth yesterday.

“The burst occurred around 7am. This was a complex repair, but our technicians managed to divert water from other areas to provide water to some customers, although this was at a lower pressure than normal.

“The burst was repaired at around 5.30pm and recharging of the water main then commenced, though this took some time for pressure to return to normal levels.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience while we completed this work.”