Traffic has been brought to a standstill through central Richmond this afternoon – Friday - after a serious mains burst.

Torrents of water bubbled up through the road outside Waitrose between the Square and Sheen Road.

It is the latest in a series of mains bursts across the borough, which have caused massive inconvenience for residents and jams on the roads.

Thames Water has come under fire for failing to maintain its water mains system effectively.

The company loses some 25% of all the treated tap water put into its pipes due to leaks, which represents a massive waste of water and money. The figure is put at some 635 million litres per day.

Just this week it emerged the company is set to hit customers with an average price rise of 9.3%.

The increase will fuel the cost of living crisis while antagonising customers, angry over repeated failures of its mains.

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At the same time, the company has been criticised for repeatedly dumping sewage into the Thames from the Mogden sewage works because its system is unable to cope with heavy rainfall.

Thames Water is also facing a challenge from local residents over plans to take up to 75m litres of water a day out of Thames upstream of Teddington and replacing it with treated effluent from Mogden.

Residents have raised concerns that it threatens river life by changing the chemical make-up and temperature of the Thames.