Water main bursts at road works site in Eastbourne town centre

The Cornfield Road site was flooded this morning after the incident.

The works are part of the Eastbourne Town Centre Improvement Scheme, a joint project between East Sussex County Council and Eastbourne Borough Council, to modernise Eastbourne’s town centre, create a pedestrian-friendly environment and to create civic space along Terminus Road for cultural and social activities.

Andrew Davin, South East Water’s distribution manager, said: “We have identified a burst on a two-inch main in Cornfield Road, Eastbourne.

“To repair the leak we will need to shut-off the water supply for about one hour. To minimise disruption to all customers the works will take place during the night when there is less demand for water.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by the burst and we are working as quickly as possible to get it fixed.

“Unfortunately leaks and bursts do happen on our high pressure, extensive network of underground pipes which carry 517 million litres of water everyday through 9,000 miles of pipe and more than six million joints. Sometimes those pipes and joints fail, but we work around the clock to find and fix leaks and bursts.”

An East Sussex Highways spokesman said: “During work on the Eastbourne Town Centre Improvement Scheme in Cornfield Road, our contractor struck a water valve which they were not aware was there, causing it to be damaged.

“We notified South East Water who are dealing with the problem as a priority. They will be on site this afternoon (Fri 17) to carry out repairs, which we understand will require the water supply in the local area to be switched off for around 45 minutes.”