A 30ft tall 'fountain' erupted from the middle of one of Swindon town centre's busiest roads this morning.

A burst main saw the water shoot higher than two-storey buildings on Commercial Road at around 6.30am.

The road was completely closed for a number of hours, although one lane reopened at 10.45am.

Workers from Thames Water remained on the scene through the afternoon, filling the large hole which appeared on a pedestrian crossing.

Wiltshire Police said at the time of the incident: "Please be aware of a road closure on Commercial Road in #Swindon due to a burst water main."

"Closures will be in place for a number of hours.

"Drivers are asked to avoid the area if possible and seek alternative routes."

The water was turned off in the area at around 8am, leaving both residents and businesses either without water or with a lower water pressure than normal.

A spokesperson from Thames Water said: "We’re sorry to those people who have no water or lower pressure than normal.

"In the meantime, we’ll be  setting up places where our customers can collect bottled water from and details of these can be found on our website."

Businesses could operate as normal.

"We just can't go to the toilet," one worker at Belvoir! lettings said.

Another told the Adver: "We also went to the store to stock up on bottled water, so we should be good."

Ironically, the burst main came just days after Thames Water urged its customers to not use too much water during the summer months with the country experiencing scorching temperatures.

It also came as the town's biggest splash park at Coate Water closed for repairs, frustrating parents and their children.

Adver readers commenting on Facebook saw the funny side.

Shelagh Brain wrote: "Better fix it soon. Had email this morning from Thames Water telling me how to save water."

Sue Bowles added: "Splash park at Coate is closed, take you kids here."

Lisa Marie Sargent commented: "How many people are there running in and out - just want to know if it's worth me taking the kids after school today or if I should start filling the pool at home."

And Ellie Rose Webster joked: "Better than the actual water feature in town."