A jet of water erupted at one of London’s busiest junctions during morning rush-hour after damage to a fire hydrant.
The fountain, outside the Metropolitan Tabernacle baptist church in Elephant and Castle, south London, was caused after a workman accidentally knocked the cap off the fire hydrant at about 9.30am on Friday.
Witnesses described water gushing into the air for “a good 20 minutes” and photos posted on social media showed the water rising as high as the church.
Burst water main #ElephantandCastle pic.twitter.com/uZHGx4fhmx
— Nick Wood (@nickxwood) August 28, 2015
A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “We’ve dispatched a team immediately to try to stop the water. We’re working as fast as we can to stop the flow from our 24-inch pipe, which was damaged during work by a third party. Once we’ve stopped the water we can start the repair.”
Witnesses said the fountain stopped just after 10am but that water was still pouring out of the main and causing major traffic disruption.
Excellent new fountain in Elephant and Castle pic.twitter.com/bvd42CP92O
— Muriel de la Colonie (@LaDonde) August 28, 2015
● This article was amended on 28 August 2015. It originally stated incorrectly that the geyser was caused by a Thames Water worker drilling through a pipe, when it was caused by a third-party contractor damaging a fire hydrant.
