A water main which burst in Bracknell this morning forced roads to close, flooding homes and affected the water supply Ringmead, between Claverdon and Cottesmore, and Birch Hill Road are all closed due to the burst water main, which has 'ruptured'.

Hanworth Road was closed this morning but has since reopened.

There are reports of large quantities of water in the roads, making them impassable.

The water company has reportedly 'isolated' the water main, by shutting off valves either side of the leak.

Steve Benton, Distribution Manager for South East Water, said: “We were alerted to a potential issue in the RG12 area early this morning and following investigations we have discovered a burst on a 16 inch water main between Claverdon and Ringmead." “Our teams have managed to isolate the burst and rerouted water from other parts of our network so that any customers initially affected should now have water albeit at a low pressure. Our teams are on site at the moment working hard to fix the burst and we apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience”.

It is unclear how many homes are affected at this time, but it has allegedly had an impact on the cafe at Bracknell Football Club.

Fire crews were called to the scene around 6am this morning, and engines from Bracknell are currently pumping water away, in particular around the Claverdon area, where the burst originated.

It is thought a number of homes are flooded, and South East Water confirmed it had people on the scene assessing the damage, and there should be no sewage contamination as they only deal with fresh water going into properties.

At this stage, it is unclear what caused the rupture, or how much water escaped.

Police are requesting people find an alternative route through this area.