PART of a city centre was sealed off yesterday as water from a burst main engulfed a road.

Hundreds of Durham City residents woke up to find themselves without water after the main at New Elvet, near Scruffy Murphy's pub, began leaking.

The problem was reported to Northumbrian Water at about 7am, and staff liaised with police and traffic wardens to cordon off the area.

Rush-hour traffic was diverted via Old Elvet and Whinney Hill, causing long delays, while children arriving at St Oswald's Infant School, in Church Street, were sent home for the morning.

Among the worst-effected premises was the Half Moon pub, where the cellar was flooded.

Manageress Pauline Draper said: "We got up at about quarter to eight and there was water on the bar floor. In the cellar, it was up to about the third or fourth step.

"When I came up, it was coming in through air bricks at the front of the pub.

"Bag and box stuff and a lot of crates have got flooded, but provided the labels stay on the stuff inside should be alright.

"The main problem is that the water is gritty and it's going to take a long time to drain."

Within two hours, a temporary water supply had been restored to all the affected premises except homes at Hallgarth Street and Mountjoy Crescent.

By late afternoon, the main had been repaired, and the diversions were expected to be removed last night.

Alistair Baker, communications manager at Northumbrian Water, said it was impossible to say what caused the fractured main.

He said: "We were able to redirect supplies round the system, and in the end, there were only about 40 houses that were without water for most of the day.

"We pulled out all the stops to return supplies to customers as quickly as possible and keep the inconvenience to a minimum.

"We thank people for being patient and apologise for the inconvenience."