Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes due to flooding and many more have been left without water after a water main burst near West Drayton.
The burst main left homes hundreds of homes in Uxbridge, Hayes, Yiewsley, Hillingdon and West Drayton without water.
When other residents turned on their taps sewage came pouring out rather than water, while others have described a torrent of water pouring into their homes.
Police and the fire brigade have been at the scene, as sandbags have been handed out to try and stop further homes flooding.
The burst water main was on the corner of Falling Lane and Camomile Way.
The water which poured down into nearby Lovibonds Avenue was reportedly waist deep while homes in Lowdell Close were flooded.
Top ideas for days out around west London
Bottled water reportedly sold out at one Tesco store in Cowley as residents looked for other ways to get hold of water.
Affinity Water sent a team to the scene to fix the water main but there have been complaints at how long it took for the water to be stopped.
For the latest updates on this story follow our blog below.
If you have any pictures or videos from the scene please send them to the Get West London Facebook page.
Puppy drowns and woman loses precious mementos in flood
A woman has spoken of her heartbreak after finding her pet puppy dead and seeing irreplaceable mementos destroyed.
Her son had died last May and she had kept all his belongings - which were tragically among the many items of hers ruined after the burst water main.
You can read the full story here.
Affinity Water confirms burst main now repaired
In a statement posted at 3.10pm Affinity Water confirmed that the burst water has now been repaired.
They wrote: “The water main has now been repaired and we are now cleaning the main so we can return it to service.
“We have been using water from our storage reservoirs to maintain supplies to customers, but as a result of this, they have been depleted. We will be using the repaired water main to refill our storage reservoirs, but you may experience lower water pressure than normal while our network recovers.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused and we would appreciate if customers could reduce their water use while this refilling takes place to reduce the recovery time to a minimum.”
Community has come together since the flood
Neighbours who didn’t even know each other are now clubbing together after the flood.
Steven Mustill, 43, of Camomile Way, said:
I was rudely awakened by the extremely loud bang of the road bursting up and the wall the stones under the tarmac getting washed down.
It was shocking but the way the community has come together today is fantastic, every person here has got involved to help everyone else.
We were a not a tight knit community before - I didn’t know the neighbours before yesterday.
Housing Association representatives are at the scene
Yiewsley ward Councillor, Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana, is at the scene assisting residents.
He has told getwestlondon that representatives of three housing associations are at the scene and are working with the residents. They will discuss with them whether some residents will have to be moved to hotels which they will know later today.
Repair work taking place to fix the burst water main
Engineers have been working since this morning to repair the burst water main on the corner of Falling Lane and Camomile Way.
Video taken by photographer Darren Pepe
West Drayton pensioner rescued from flooded home by boat
A pensioner and her pet dog had to be rescued in a lifeboat as “all of a sudden water flooded” into her home, with sandbags powerless to stop the water “ruin” her brand new kitchen.
Marian Haskins, 74, was in her home on Lovibonds Avenue when water from a burst main poured down the street, which is on a slope, on Sunday night (September 16).
In places the water was waist deep and Mrs Haskins was one of several people who had to be evacuated from homes in the street by boat.
You can read Mrs Haskins’ reaction to what she went through here.
George & Dragon pub offering refreshments
The George & Dragon pub is offering food and drink to anyone affected by last nights flooding.
Tea and bacon rolls are on the house at the Yiewsley high street pub.
Landlady Kerry Williams, 32, said:
“it’s just about helping the community when they’ve been literally devastated. I know a lot of people in the area and two of my staff members were affected when the power was cut. We just want to help any way we can.”
See inside a home wrecked by the flood
Inside one of the homes which fell victim to the flood.
See the level of damage and mess caused to a home
This video, taken inside a home in Angelica Close, shows the damage caused by the flooding. The remains of water are still clear to see on the kitchen floor in particular.
Video taken by photographer Darren Pepe
'It must have been going about 20mph'
Our reporters have been speaking to some of those affected by the flooding, including 36-year-old Kirsty Smith. She said: “I had no shoes on and had to run across the road with my two-year-old. We tried to put towels down but it wasn’t doing anything.
“I noticed it was happening when I went to have a shower and heard water running. It wasn’t a trickling, it must have been going about 20mph and you could feel [the water] pushing you when you tried to walk. It’s a shame because I spent four hours cleaning everything yesterday and now it’s all ruined.”
What residents have to say
Reporter Martin Elvery is at the scene and has spoken with residents of Lovibonds Avenue.
The water from the burst main in Falling Lane flowed down the slope and in to their street last night.
The water was waist deep at its highest point, and some people had to be rescued on a lifeboat, including an elderly lady, a disabled person and a resident with heart problems.
Affinity Water's efforts to help those affected by their burst water main
Read the latest about Affinity Water’s efforts to repair a burst main which has left hundreds of homes without water.
Affinity Water to arrange bottled water for "customers in vulnerable situations"
An Affinity Water spokesman has told getwestlondon that work is expected to be completed later today.
He added that customers in vulnerable situations will be given bottled water, with several homes in the surrounding areas left without water.
An Affinity Water spokesperson said:
“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by a burst at Falling Lane in West Drayton last night.
“This caused flooding to a number properties in the area and we are providing support to those whose homes have been flooded.
“We are arranging bottled water supplies for customers in vulnerable situations and other customers in the area.
“Our technicians have been working throughout the night to excavate the area around the burst so the complex repairs can be completed, which is expected later today.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience during this time.”
Footage of the flooding
Video footage taken last night shows the extent of the flooding’s impact on the neighbourhood and the Fire Brigade’s response, which included using a raft.
LFB confirm 80 homes affected
London Fire Brigade said 80 homes have been affected by the flooding, with about 120 residents evacuated. You can see more pictures of conditions residents have had to deal with here.
Update from Affinity Water
Affinity Water posted updates on their website this morning as they struggled to repair the burst water main.
They wrote: “Repair works continue on site and we have exposed more of the damaged water main. We continue to excavate the area and have been able to restore supplies to our customers.
“As we approach high demand in the morning, customers may experience a loss of water to their supply until the full repair has been completed. Should this happen, we will continue to update you on our progress on site.”
They added that they apologised for this inconvenience, were aware of damage to properties caused by the flooding and that their teams were in the area to assist customers.
More photos
And some more pictures that have been sent to us by Adam Szymiczek of houses in Lovibonds Avenue.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in pictures tonight. If you have photos, or would like to tell us how the flood has affected you, please send them to or a message to the Get West London Facebook page.
The latest photos from the scene
These pictures have been sent to use by Adam Szymiczek from Lovibonds Avenue and show just how much water has poured out of the burst main and into local streets and homes.
The latest from Affinity Water
This update has just been given by Affinity Water
#Uxbridge #WestDrayton #UB3 #UB7 #UB8 #UB10 - A team is on site, and the burst main on Falling Lane has been isolated. Some areas may have water back on but at lower pressure until the repair is complete. Sorry again for the inconvenience- Chloe
— Affinity Water (@AffinityWater) September 16, 2018
Lots of homes may well have been flooded
There are reports that homes may well have flooded in a number of roads.
Angelica Road is reported to have been hit particularly badly while Lovibonds Avenue and Camomile Way have also been badly hit, as has Lowdell Close.
Affinity Water 'investigating'
Jake Webb sent us a photo earlier of his bath filled with sewage.
He has been back in touch and tells us: “I have spoken to Affinity Water, they’re investigating sewage rising up from the pipes.
“It needs to be stated that clearly not enough has been done to prevent this! Thank you to the London Fire Brigade for their help! I couldn’t get through to the water company at first, their emergency lines would hang up on you.”
Homes 'have been destroyed'
Questions will start to be asked about whether this evening’s response was as quick as it could have been.
Nikki Dodd said: “People’s homes have been flooded and destroyed. It took them nearly two hours to shut off the water to stop the water rising.”
More photos from the scene
These pictures have been sent to us by Celine-Marie Evans-Dark
Baby rescued
Dale Brown, who has been sending us updates from the scene, tells us the lifeboat was used to ensure a new-born baby could be safely evacuated from a home and taken to safety.
Another photo from the scene of the flood.
This photo from the scene has been sent to us by Sonal Pitrola-Patel.
Thank you to everyone who has been sending us pictures from the scene.
Power could be turned off
Local resident Dale Brown tells us: “There is talk of power being turned off in the area as currently it is unsafe and they are trying to make it safe.”
Water has poured into homes
Another photo sent to us from the scene by Dale Brown shows one of the homes that has been flooded.
A lifeboat is at the scene
We don’t know if it has been used but this photo from the scene has been sent to use by Dale Brown, which shows a lifeboat has been deployed, should it be needed for evacuating people from their homes.
"It looks like sewage"
Well, you wouldn’t want to take a bath in this!
This photo has been sent to us by Jake Webb.
He says: “Burbage Close and Judge Heath Lane have no water. It’s brown, the water that’s coming out. It looks like sewage.”
