Gallons of water poured into deep ditches around the Fleming Way redevelopment area after a pipe burst.

On Thursday morning, floodwater surged around the site where the pedestrian underpass between The Parade and Unity Place once stood.

Sandbags prevented the growing pool from flowing towards H&M and the empty Debenhams building as work on the £33m regeneration scheme temporarily stopped.

Passing shoppers joked that it was nice to see the old canal back in the town centre.

Several Thames Water vans and engineers attended the scene of the incident that had left many homes in the SN1 postcode without running water for hours.

The utility company took steps to stop the flow of water from the pipe, then focused on pinpointing the damaged section and how best to fix it.

By 12pm, repairs to the pipe had been completed and customers' supply issues began to be sorted out.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We've repaired a burst water pipe on Fleming Way and all customers should be back in supply. However, our engineers will still remain on site to continue with planned works to assist with the new development.

"We’re very sorry for any inconvenience caused during this time.” 

Swindon Borough Council explained that a failed attempt to connect a newly-installed pipe to the rest of the underground infrastructure created the accidental water feature.

A spokesperson said on Thursday morning: "Some residents in the town centre have lost water access while engineers from Thames Water work to repair a new mains water pipe that they recently installed under Fleming Way.

"It was caused by a failed connection to the new water main.

"The significant flooding is contained to the construction site and is not impacting Zurich, Tri-Centre, the Parade or any of the neighbouring buildings.

"All town centre roads remain unaffected."

Residents in Kingshill contacted the Adver to say they had no water at their homes, then later added that the supply had been restored by 1pm.

Work on the redevelopment of Fleming Way began in September 2022 and is due to be completed by autumn 2025.

It has involved lowering the entire road down to the level of The Parade and changing the layout to create a public transport hub as well as adding extra cycle routes and a new pedestrian crossing controlled by traffic lights.

When finished, all buses previously operating from Swindon bus station and from Fleming Way will leave from a single location that also serves inter-urban bus and coach services.