HOUSEHOLDS across the York area lost their water supplies today after a 18-inch main burst - while others disovered there was low pressure when they turned on their taps.

Areas affected by the burst included Acomb, Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe and Scarcroft Hill.

Yorkshire Water said the company had suffered a burst on one of its 18” mains in the YO26 postcode area this morning, and this had impacted water supplies across a number of areas in York.

A spokeswoman said at lunchtime that engineers were 'working on a fix' and had isolated the issue, which meant that water supplies should return to normal soon.

She said at 4pm that all supplies had been restored.

Press reporter Steve Lewis, who lives in Acomb, was one of those affected.

He said: "When I tried to use the water at 9.45 there was nothing, just a gurgling. There's no water all upstairs, and just a trickle downstairs. It was on earlier on.

"It was quite a shock when I turned on the tap and nothing came out. Makes you realise how completely dependent we are on utility companies. 

"I have some water in a kettle but otherwise nothing."

He added that his neighbour had lost their supplies as well but said supplies were restored at just after 11am.

Readers told The Press that homes in Copmanthorpe and Bishopthorpe were also without water, while another living in Scarcroft Hill said: "We have very low water pressure downstairs and no water upstairs."

Yorkshire Water said it worked hard to get water supplies back to normal as soon as possible.

But it warned customers that once the burst was fixed, their water might be cloudy or discoloured. "You can clear this by running your tap for a few minutes," it said.

The spokeswoman said the company would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers.

The burst comes only weeks after a mains burst in Wigginton Road, causing the closure of the key commuter route past York Hospital for several days.

The company said then that the burst, which caused 'significant damage' to the road surface, might have been related to the intense July heatwave.

A spokesperson said that increased demand for water had put its pipes under more pressure than normal, and very dry ground conditions could also have caused underground movements, leading to fractures in pipes.