Hailsham: Water outage forces Hellingly school to close

Hellingly Community Primary School in Hailsham has been left without any water due to the incident.

Drivers near Hailsham are also feeling the pressure as huge tailbacks on the A22 build-up while engineers work to repair the pipe.

The school wrote to parents this morning to tell them that it would not be opening its doors.

But children in Year 6 doing their SATs exams have been told they can still come to school, just with "a filled water bottle or two."

The A22 closure (Image: Google)

Head of school Michelle McKay wrote: "Year 6 SATs will go ahead today. There will be no SATs breakfast today. Please can all Year 6 arrive at 8.45 with a filled water bottle or 2.

"Please collect your children at 12noon. Many thanks for your understanding."

A map showing homes affected by the burst main (Image: South East Water)

South East Water has said it is repairing the pipe and materials are on their way.

It has told customers: "We are still working hard to fix the burst water main and making some good progress on site.

"Therefore, we can't say just yet how long this will take but please rest assured we're doing everything we can to get you back up and running as soon as possible.

Read more: 'Horrendous traffic' as A-road closed due to burst water main

"If your water looks brown in colour, please don't worry as it is not harmful. This happens when small particles of iron within the mains are disturbed.

"Your water may also appear cloudy, or white. If you fill a glass of water and it clears from the bottom upwards then this means your water is just a little more aerated than usual. Simply run the water from your cold kitchen tap until the water is clear.

"We will be able to provide more information tomorrow."

The A22 Hailsham Bypass is closed northbound between Diplocks Roundabout and the Boship Roundabout.