A BURST water main in a west Suffolk town left thousands of properties without water or low water pressure.

The burst happened on a large main at the roundabout under the A14 at Rougham Road, Bury St Edmunds, at about 6.20pm yesterday.

A spokesman for Anglian Water said about 8,000 properties would have been affected, especially those on the Moreton Hall and Howard estates in the town.

He said water returned to properties by about 9.30/9.45pm last night, but they could be experiencing lower water pressure than normal, particularly if they are on higher ground.

It is thought the burst might be as a result of the cold weather.

“We do apologise for any inconvenience people have had, we appreciate it’s inconvenient,” he said.

The spokesman said they were working as fast as they could to replace the section of pipe.

He said one of the difficulties they were facing was that the pipe is two-and-a-half-metres under ground.

It is expected that the work will be complete by later this afternoon with everything back to normal by this evening.

One lane is closed at the roundabout at Rougham Road and temporary traffic lights are in place.