A major Oldham road remains closed outside Royal Oldham Hospital this evening after a burst water pipe caused flooding. 

A section of Rochdale Road shut after a burst water pipe caused water to block a large part of the street. 

The water was, at one point, covering the entire road in videos shared on social media.

 

At around noon, a United Utilities spokesperson said: “Our engineers are on site assessing the burst water main and planning the next steps to isolate the pipe and carry out repairs.

(Image: Newsquest)

"We are also making changes to the local water supply network to minimise the number of customers who may be affected by low water pressure or no water.

"We are doing everything we can to minimise disruption and we thank people for their patience while we get on with the repairs."

RECAP: Updates as road near Royal Oldham Hospital flooded

An updated statement at 4.45pm on the water company's website said: "We’re really sorry if you’re experiencing no water or low water pressure right now.

"A burst has been reported to us on Rochdale Road and we can confirm this is the cause of the problem. 

"Our teams have arrived on site and they’ll be doing all they can to get your water supply back to normal as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience."

The flooding has caused chaos in the area, with a number of access routes into the hospital closed off and one of the largest car parks at the site also inaccessible. 

Several bus services were also diverted with the 183 service terminating at Oldham bus station.

On scene were at least two United Utilities tankers and a number of vans. 

Greater Manchester Police were also directing traffic, and only allowing access to a small number of vehicles with connection to the area. 

Ambulances were permitted entry to the road and were continuing to attend to the road.