Major Water Main Burst Leaves Thousands Without Supply Across East Wight

Thousands of homes and businesses across East Wight have been left without water this morning (Thursday) following a major burst water main, with disruption continuing to escalate as the day gets underway.

As residents begin their morning routines, shoppers have been seen heading to Tesco Extra in Ryde to stock up on bottled water amid the ongoing outage.

The situation has also forced the closure of several schools, including Bembridge Primary School, St Helens Primary School and Nettlestone Primary School.

Other schools in the surrounding area, such as Oakfield, remain open.

Areas including Ryde, Seaview, St Helens and Bembridge have all been affected, with many residents waking to find taps running dry.

There are also concerns the issue could spread as far as Shanklin, while places such as Brading are experiencing reduced water pressure.

The burst has been identified in Bembridge, off Commonwood Lane, where a large volume of water has flooded a nearby field and spilled onto the main Sandown to Bembridge road near the airport.

Southern Water engineers have located the damaged main and are working to isolate the affected section.

Resources are being mobilised to carry out repairs as quickly as possible, although the disruption is expected to continue for some time.

A spokesperson said:

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we thank you for your patience.”

The outage is already impacting local businesses, with a number forced to close temporarily, including McDonald’s.

The incident is believed to have occurred overnight, sometime before 5am.