AN elderly resident's home in Thirlstane Road was flooded and 40 other houses left without a supply when a Severn Trent water main burst early on Wednesday morning (June 26).

Water flooded into a ground-floor flat at sheltered accommodation at around 4.45am.

The flood caused considerable damage to furniture and carpets.

Despite calls to Severn Trent, an inspector did not arrive on site to turn off the water supply until 9.30am.

The fire brigade had to be called in to stem the flow of the water, which left a deposit of sand and silt on the approach to the building.

Residents waiting for their water to be turned back on were furious at the way Severn Trent had handled the situation.

"Five hours we waited, and then they couldn't find where to turn it off," said Gwen Draper, who lives on the ground floor of the affected building.

"It's been a right mess."

But there was praise for the efforts of the fire brigade.

"They were absolutely marvellous, everywhere would have been flooded," said Joan Sutton.

Water was restored to the affected homes by 2pm the same day.

Severn Trent press office Caroline Hosie said they did not know that there had been flooding until the inspector got there.

She said calls only gained priority when more than one report of a problem was received.

"It's when you get a few more calls in that you realise something's wrong and we can send someone out," she said.

"If it's a flooding incident we'd get there as soon as we could."