A school has closed and 1000 properties have been affected by a burst water main in Beetley, near Dereham, today.

The leak to the main pipe on Fakenham Road cut off supplies to the village and surrounding areas at around 5am but many properties were reconnected quickly by Anglian Water engineers.

However the same pipe burst in a second place around an hour later with 94 properties losing supply and causing low pressure for homes in Beetley, Hoe, Gressenhall, Longham and Swanton Morley.

St Mary's Primary in Beetley contacted all parents this morning to inform them the school would close for the day after they were left without water.

Headteacher at St Mary's Jessica Balado said she was alerted of the problem at 6.30am and as there was still no water by 8am she organised for parents of all 170 children to be contacted and closed the school.

'We were reconnected at 8.45am but as all the systems needed to be flushed out we could not open,' she said. 'We had no kitchen and no toilets and no water in the school at all.

'We have a very good communication system with parents to let them know as quickly as possible so we did not have to turn anyone away at the gate.

'There is no reason why we should not be open tomorrow.'

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: 'We're really sorry some customers in Dereham, Beetley and the surrounding areas may have had low water pressure or no water at all this morning.

'This was due to two burst sections of water pipe on Fakenham Road, Beetley.

'The vast majority of customers are now back on water and we are working hard to get the final 94 properties back on too.

'We will be updating our 'In Your Area' page of the website as the work progresses. This can be found at: www.anglianwater.co.uk/youarea.'

She added all repairs should be completed today and that while supplies should have returned to normal for the majority of customers the water may look a little cloudy or discoloured.

She said: 'If you run your tap for a short while this should clear. If you are still experiencing low water pressure, no water or your water remains discoloured, please call us on 03457 145 145 or contact us via facebook or twitter.'

* Have you been affected by loss of water supply? Email kathryn.cross@archant.co.uk.