...but not a drop to drink:

Mrs Webmaster woke me this morning (30 November) with the ominous words: "This is your last cup of tea." The water was off in Thames Ditton. Some time in the small hours a 48" water main burst in the back garden of 44 Basingfield Road, spewing a huge volume of water, sand and mud and leaving a bomb-size crater in the back garden... Photo shows the crater after the main was shut off. Click it for larger image ---->

And it comes out here... click image for larger

The wall of water laid waste back gardens and flooded houses down Basingfield Road, and burst through a brick wall to Station Road.

Bad drainage along Speer and Station Roads...

The volume of water would doubtless have overwhelmed good surface water drains, but the drains along Station and Speer Roads are poor at the best of times, despite years of pressing the authorities. So the water ran along Speer Road towards the Infants' School and along Station Road to the High Street. Continue to next page ...