“30ft Water Fountain Creates Chaos, Soaks Cars in South East London”

A water spout reaching nearly 30ft left passersby and cars soaked after a pipe burst on a busy road. 

The chaos was filmed by onlookers in Charlton, south-east London.

Footage shows mist towering over buildings and leaving cars covered in water as they drove past.

The leak was spotted just off the roundabout on Woolwich Road at around lunchtime last Tuesday.

Jordan Kemp, who posted the video, was left speechless as he passed the unexpected fountain while in his car.

He said to Thames Water in a tweet: ‘This is currently in SE7 Charlton. Are we still on a hose pipe ban/drought? 

‘Should be about time we see mass improvements in the infrastructure before you start charging more money.’

Jordan Kemp captured the moment on his phone (Picture: Jordan Kemp / SWNS)

The fountain reached nearly 30ft (Picture: Jordan Kemp / SWNS)

A Thames Water spokesperson said: ‘Finding and fixing leaks is a top priority with over 1,000 repairs made each week.

‘We received reports of a water leak in Charlton, Woolwich, on Tuesday, March 7 and our engineers attended on the same day to investigate.’

By the time Thames Water attended, the leak had already stopped. 

It is thought it instead came from third party pipework. 

The spokesperson added: ‘We carried out due diligence and checked the surrounding areas for any leaks in on our network, however none were identified.’

Thames Water has previously confirmed it is planning updates in the area to accommodate population growth in coming decades.

The water company is set to build major pipeline from Woolwich to Lewisham, which should cover a length of 6750 metres.

Plans submitted to the Royal Borough of Greenwich Council propose construction starts in spring 2024 at the earliest, with completion expected by autumn 2025. 

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