New Dover Road in Canterbury closed due to burst South East Water main

A burst pipe has shut a major route in and out of Canterbury, causing rush hour chaos.

New Dover Road is closed in both directions and properties in the area are experiencing low water pressure due to the incident.

A burst water main has shut New Dover Road in Canterbury in both directions

The closure, which is near the city’s Premier Inn, has been put in place by South East Water and contractors from Clancy are carrying out the repairs.

A South East Water spokesperson said: “We're really sorry to those of you who are experiencing low water pressure at the moment.

“This has been caused by a burst main which we are trying to fix as quickly as we can.

“As soon as the repairs have been completed, your water will return to normal.

“Our repairs teams are on site however, to allow for the safe repair of the burst pipe traffic management is on site, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Commuters have had to find other ways out of the city

“We can't say just yet how long this will take but please rest assured we're doing everything we can to get you back up and running as soon as possible.”

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One witness, who was on their way home from work, said: “It is absolute chaos.

“Traffic in both directions is being made to do a u-turn.”

Clancy and South East Water has been contacted for comment. More as we have it.