Anglian Water has confirmed that water supplies will come back on in Hunstanton and Ringstead during the night after a pipe which burst earlier today was finally fixed.

The drama began at 11am today when Anglian Water triggered automated calls to warn that the 21in main, which serves Hunstanton, Heacham and Ringstead, had burst. Taps were still not working at 10pm.

Quick-thinking engineers from the water company 're-zoned' the pipes in the area to divert water from other mains to some homes and businesses, which meant Heacham was less affected by the problem.

Homes near to the broken pipe – in a field next to the King's Lynn Road and Redgate Hill roundabout, on the A149 at Hunstanton – were also able to get some water supply, albeit at a lower pressure, but the town centre was almost entirely cut off.

The problems caused many businesses to lose nearly a full day's trade and meant residents were unable to use water for the whole evening.

Supermarkets quickly ran out of bottled water, forcing residents to drive to Heacham for supplies, and council environmental health teams ordered restaurants without an adequate water supply to close.

Cafes, pubs and restaurants were among the businesses worst affected, with Wells Deli and Fisher's Fish and Chips, and the Greevdale among those businesses which closed their doors along with Tamworth Tea Rooms, Cafe Blah Blah and Copper Kettle in the High Street.

An Anglian Water spokesman said at 10.15pm: 'The repair has been fixed and people's water will be coming on throughout the night.

'We want to stress how sorry we are and ask people to contact us if they have any concerns about their water quality in the morning.'

Read tomorrow's EDP for full details.