WATER was gushing into a busy main road and up to front door of homes after a underground pipe burst in Blackburn.

Concerned locals contacted water supplier United Utilities after the water main failed at 11am yesterday in Whalley New Road.

Engineers were sent to the scene to stem the flow.

Cars were forced to slow down to navigate the flooded section of the road at the junction of Whalley New Road and Sapphire Street.

And residents had to keep their front doors closed after the water seeped into the front gardens and up to the foot of several houses.

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Nabeela Hagi, 32, who lives with her two children near to the burst, said: “I was concerned that the water was going to come up to my front door.

“It was at the edge of the garden but didn’t come any closer.

“I had to move my car away from that section of the road because otherwise it would have been damaged because of the amount of water.

“Cars were driving very fast through the flooded area of the road and it was a bit dangerous.

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“I’ve never seen anything like this before and it must have been horrible for those who live in the houses where the water drew nearer.”

The water gathered on a large section of the pavement making it unusable.

A spokeswoman for United Utilities said: “Our engineer operated valves to isolate the burst and we had an emergency water tanker pumping into the system to help improve pressure.”

Samantha Hall, who attempted to walk down the road, said: “I can’t believe how many cars are driving fast through the flood.

“It’s really unsafe and I’m worried that there is going to be an accident.

“I think that some did not expect it because it has not rained but people should really slow down when they go through large bodies of water like that.

“I’ve never seen a water pipe burst like this before and it must have been horrible for the people living right next to it.”

It came after the main road through Barrowford reopened yesterday after a mains burst caused problems over the weekend.

Engineers were called out after a leak was reported at around 6pm on Saturday, outside the White Lion pub.

But diversions in the centre of the village resulted in traffic facing lengthy detours around Colne or through Blacko to reach certain locations across Pendle.