THE BURST water main in Newport flooded a main road and left a hospital and around 10,000 properties without water yesterday.

Thousands of gallons of water gushed on to the Kingsway roundabout in the early hours of yesterday morning after the main burst near the castle.

The A4042 was closed in both directions between the Kingsway and Harlequin roundabouts, and was only re-opened this morning.

A spokesman for Welsh Water said: "We received reports at around 8am of no water in the Newport city centre area between Christchurch and Gaer.

"A team was immediately despatched who found that supplies to around 10,000 properties and St Woolos Hospital had been affected."

Supplies to the hospital and 9,000 properties were immediately restored, while the remaining 1,000 properties in the Brynglas area were without water until around 1pm.

"Water bowsers were deployed to the area and we contacted people on our at risk register and made sure that bottled water was available to them upon request," added the spokesman.

A spokesman for Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust said St Woolos hospital was without water for a short time, but it did not cause major problems.

A Gwent Police spokesman said: "A severe flood on the Kingsway led to a significant amount of water in the dip in the Kingsway roundabout by safety cameras and near the A4042 exit northbound towards Cwmbran.

"The road was closed off, and traffic was diverted on to the Old Green roundabout."

Mayor of Newport Allan Morris had the supply at his residence the Mansion House on Stow Hill cut off from early morning. He said: "It's one of things we take for granted, having a constant water supply, but it causes a few worries when it's cut off. Luckily, it was back on within a couple of hours."

Welsh Water said some customers may experience low pressure or water discolouration as supplies return to normal.

It has not yet estimated the cost of the repair operation.