Water outage LIVE: Huge leak cuts supply to thousands of homes across five London boroughs

Thousands of homes across south-west London are suffering no water or low pressure PA ArchiveThames Water is warning of a major supply issue affecting homes across a huge swathe of London.In a statement on Monday morning, the utility company said it is “aware of an issue” affecting customers in postcodes across five boroughs in south-west London.They are Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth. The Surrey districts of Elmbridge and Spelthorne are also affected. “Our specialist team is on the way to investigate and work to restore your water supply as soon as possible,” Thames Water said. It said the following postcodes may be affected: CR4, KT1, KT10, KT12, KT2, KT3, KT5, KT6, KT7, KT8, SM4, SW16, SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20, TW10, TW16.Follow the latest updates below...Local businesses rally to help out 'elderly and vulnerable' citizensLocal businesses are rallying to support locals as the water outage sweeps across south London. Though Thames Water is working to deliver bottled water to customers, mobile valeting and car detailing firm Wright Shine has urged elderly or vulnerable citizens to get in contact. The local business said it will not be carrying out its normal valeting work, but is happy to “give out” water from its tank for toileting and washing needs. Thames Water dealing with 'large burst water main' in latest updateThames Water has issued an update as it tackles the leak across five boroughs in south London and parts of Surrey. On its website, the water company said: “Sorry if your tap water isn’t running at the moment. We're dealing with a large burst water main which is affecting the water supply to the wider area. “Our specialist team is now on site and working to stop the water flooding from the broken pipe. We've rerouted water around the area and customers in the Surbiton area should begin to see their water return shortly, the pressure may be lower than normal, but this will return once we've fixed the broken pipe. “Unfortunately, owing to the location of the burst, it's likely to take some time to fix. “We know how disruptive it is if you lose your water supply, so we’ll work hard to get things back to normal as soon as we can.” Another update is expected at 11.30am. Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates. Surrey Councillor shares images of queues outside TescoA councillor at Surrey County Council has shared images of queues for bottled water outside Tesco this morning. Cllr Steve Bax for Molesley said in a Facebook post that supplies were being rationed at the supermarket while Thames Water begin tackling the leak. Local supermarket sells out of waterA local supermarket has reportedly run out of bottled water as the water outage sweeps across five boroughs in south London.A local resident told SurreyLive that schools have been shut and one supermarket has sold out of water. The leak is impacting potentially hundreds of thousands of homes in and around south London and Surrey.In similar incidents, Thames Water has provided local residents with resources as they repair leaks and rectify outages. Thames Water has previously handed out water and supplies to local residentsPA WireFull statement: Thames WaterThames Water has apologised for the outage which is impacting five boroughs in south London and parts of Surrey. The water company published a statement on its website as it works to rectify the issue. The statement reads: “We’re sorry if your tap water isn’t running at the moment. We’re aware of an issue in the area that's affecting the customers in KT, SW and TW postal code areas and some customers in CR4 & SM4 areas.“Our specialist team is the way to investigate and work to restore your water supply as soon as possible.“We know how disruptive it is if you lose your water supply, so we’ll work hard to get things back to normal as soon as we can.“If you or someone you know needs a little extra support, our free Priority Services Register can help us to understand your situation so we can take it into account as best we can.“Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this.” The statement added that another update would be provided by 9.45am. Thames Water working to reduce impact of leakThames Water is reported to be working on its network to reduce the immediate impact of the leak as quickly as possible. It can divert water around its system to try and boost supplies to affected households. The water company said a specialist team has been dispatched to restore water supply in the area as soon as possible. Another update is expected by 9.45am. Local schools forced to shut amid water outageSome schools in parts of south west London and Surrey have been forced to close amid the water outage, the BBC has reported. Long Ditton Infant and Nursery School and Thames Ditton Infant School have been forced to close due to issues with water in the area. London MP pushes for ‘urgent response’ to ‘big burst’The MP for Esher and Walton has pushed for an “urgent response” following the water outage across five boroughs in south London. In a post on X, Liberal Democrat Monica Harding said she understood the incident was “a big burst” leaking at a rate of 750 litres of water per second. Five boroughs in south London left without waterHomes in five boroughs across south London have been left with no water or low water pressure this morning.Thames Water is reporting that postcode areas across Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Wandsworth are all affected. Specialists have now been dispatched to restore water supply, according to the water company. The following postcodes are expected to be impacted: CR4, KT1, KT10, KT12, KT2, KT3, KT5, KT6, KT7, KT8, SM4, SW16, SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20, TW10, TW16.