A fire hydrant gushing water into London Road underwent an emergency repair this morning.

A fire hydrant gushing water into London Road underwent an emergency repair this morning.

The water was suspected to have been caused by a burst pipe, but was in fact caused by the leaking hydrant which was damaged after an 'unauthorised' person used it.

An engineer from South East Water conducted an emergency repair job on the hydrant this morning but it will have to be completely replaced.

South East Water’s Distribution Manager Philip Cereda said: “We were alerted today (Wednesday) at 8.40am to a fire hydrant gushing water on London Road, Bracknell.

“The hydrant had been used by someone not authorised to do so and damaged it as a result, which is why it was leaking. A South East Water technician carried out an emergency repair, but the hydrant will now have to be replaced.

“Vandalism and unauthorised use of a hydrant is a serious offence which could mean it is not available for the fire brigade to use in an emergency and it could also have a negative effect on the network. If anyone sees someone tampering with a hydrant we would ask them to notify us as soon as possible on 0333 000 0365.”