Burst water main in Hermitage was result of fire

Thames Water has confirmed the cause of the burst main on Friday which left 60 houses without water

HERMITAGE householders were without mains water supplies for most of Friday (July 8) as a direct result of a fire which broke out in a nearby barn, it has been confirmed.

Around 60 households in the Hermitage Green area were without water from early Friday morning until late that afternoon after a mains burst as firefighters were extinguishing a nearby blaze that had started in a workshop in a barn at the junction of Old Street and Priors Court Road.

Water supplies to Hermitage Primary School were also affected and, as a result, the school was closed for the day.

Thames Water spokeswoman, Natalie Slater confirmed today (Monday) that the cause of the burst was still under investigation but was directly linked to the fire, and she said all water supplies had been restored to the area on Friday by 5.30pm.

Fire crews, including 18 firefighters from Newbury, Hungerford and Tilehurst, had been called to the blaze late on Thursday night, at around 11.30pm.

Priors Court Road, Hermitage, was immediately closed off in both directions until about 2pm on Friday, and a 200m cordon was set up around the scene of the incident, due to the dangers posed by a highly explosive acetylene cylinder in the workshop, which had burnt to the ground prior to the firefighters' arrival.

Ninety soldiers from the nearby army base Denison Barracks, were also evacuated and spent most of the night in their gymnasium.

Acres of Fun Nursery, in Priors Court Road, was also closed for the day on Friday due to the incident, which is still being investigated by the fire authority.