MORE than 70 homes in a Hampshire village were left without water after a mains burst.

Workmen battled for hours to repair the fractured six-inch pipeline on the B3048 near the Almshouses at Mottisfont near Romsey.

Tuesday morning’s burst sent huge volumes of water running down Hatt Hill and into the River Dun. For a time the B3084 was under a foot of water north of Mottisfont & Dunbridge Station.

Water was still gushing out from the leak late in the afternoon while part of the road surface was lifted by the pressure of the water.

It’s the second major burst in the area within the last few weeks. Last month homes in the same area of Mottisfont lost their water supplies when a mains burst in Lockerley Road in neighbouring Dunbridge.

Water was switched back on after 45 minutes.