RESIDENTS expecting a bank holiday lie-in were given a rude awakening in Dixon Street on Friday as a water main burst in the early hours, unleashing streams across Eastcott.

Thirty houses were left without water for much of the day after the pipe burst outside Swindon Moravian Church.

Witnesses could see the water gushing down the hill in Dixon Street, into Eastcott Hill and Crombey Street as early as 2.30am.

Claire Hirt, 41, who works at Jaywing in Century Road, said: “I first saw it at 2.30am because it had woken me up.

“I sleep in the front bedroom, and I thought we were being flooded when I heard it. I didn’t call it in then because I didn’t want to wake my son up. I woke up again at 6am and it was still flowing.

“I said to the girl on the phone it might be a bit of a worry, there was loads of it and it was flowing all the way down into the new development at Regent Circus.”

Parked cars and the pavement outside the church were submerged with water as deep as three inches in places.

Thames Water took its first calls after 5am, and an engineer was on-site at 9am turning off the supply of water at 9.50am.

Brian Williams, 77, a retired electrician in Dixon Street, said: “I was concerned because it was flooding cars, but nobody seemed bothered about moving them.

“I assume a main burst, but it must have been a lot of pressure because it has brought the tarmac up in the road.”