A BURST water main caused widespread damage and left thousands of homes without water yesterday.

Homes were flooded and roads were turned into flowing rivers as firefighters tried to contain the deluge.

More than 3,500 homes in Burgess Hill were left without water for much of the day after the pipe burst in Cromwell Road at around 4am.

Water streamed through the streets in Cromwell Road, Fairfield Road, Newport Road and Royal George Road, flooding homes and destroying carpets and furniture.

Jane Winchester, 73, of Fairfield Road, told of the devastation caused to the carpet, furniture and electrical goods on the ground floor of her home.

She said: “When I came down the stairs I thought the dishwasher had leaked.

“I couldn’t open my kitchen door, because the water was three inches deep.

“Everything needs to be replaced.”

Tina Avery, 57, of Cromwell Road, said: “The water came out of the road straight down the side of my garden. It was like a river. I’ve now got a pond at the bottom of my garden.

“All along the road it was like a flowing river and the firefighters were wading through – it was really wet and deep.”

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service station commander Andy Huntly said: “It was certainly quite dramatic at four in the morning when the water main originally burst.

“It burst under the road and water bubbled up creating a stream of water going down several roads.”

South East Water brought in crates of bottled water for residents while engineers tried to reconnect the supply.

By the afternoon a spokesman said it had restored the water to homes furthest away from the burst main.

Repairs were expected to finish yesterday evening and Cromwell Road will reopen this morning.

A South East Water spokesman said: “Our technicians are supporting vulnerable customers in the area and providing assistance to local residents.”