Businesses closed in Norfolk town where schools, businesses, public toilets and leisure centre also affected

Businesses in parts of King's Lynn have been closed all day after a water main burst this morning.

Anglian Water has now said it is hoping to have the service restored by 9pm - but cafes and restaurants in the town who have lost a day's trade also face problems tonight.

Public toilets, a school, nursery school and leisure centre in King's Lynn had to close from this morning.

St James swimming pool and leisure centre, Eastgate Primary school and King's Lynn Nursery all shut.

Around 100 homes and businesses in part of King's Lynn are still without water.

The Lattice House public house has also closed to the public and businesses serving food in the town centre also had to close their doors.

Staff at the town's branch of Subway were left facing a quiet day and manager Lorraine Todd said the closure came on one of the busiest days of the week.

'We have kept ourselves occupied, but it's been a blow,' she said.

A manager at Norfolk Street's Filling Station said she thought the business could have lost up to �1,000.

'We didn't even open this morning and had to send six people home. It's been a real loss for us,' said Sarah Perrin.

Engineers are working at Kettlewell Lane, near Austin Fields, to repair the main, but Anglian Water does not expect to have the repair completed until later tonight.

A number of properties in the area currently have no water at all, while others have severely reduced pressure.

A spokesman for West Norfolk Council said the public toilets and the pool and leisure centre would re-open once the water is running again.

The main burst during rush hour at around 8.30am and a large number of properties would have initially been affected.

Antony Innes, from Anglian Water, said: 'We are very sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused to businesses and customers in Kings Lynn town centre who have been affected by a loss of water supply following a burst water main on Kettlewell Lane.

'A 14-inch water pipe burst this morning causing around 300 properties in the town and surrounding area to lose supplies.

'By lunchtime, the supply to almost 200 of these affected customers was restored, albeit on lower than normal pressure. Unfortunately, 100 properties have been without water throughout the day.

'We anticipate that the repair will be fully completed later on this evening, approximately 9pm.

'Our engineers have been on site throughout the day attempting to repair the damaged section of pipe. Regrettably due to the size and location of this water main the repair has taken significantly longer than we initially hoped.

'We recognise that this burst has caused widespread disruption and affected businesses in the area and we are truly sorry for this.'