A BURST main in Darcy Lever has left 90 homes without water.

The ruptured pipe, on Hacken Bridge Road, close to the Bolton Lads and Girls Club Playing Fields, has flooded the street with two to three inches of water.

Engineers say the main is likely to remain shut off in order to stop the road from being further flooded while repairs take place.

A spokesman for United Utilities said: "The problem has come from a six inch water main, which we think has burst because of ground movement due to the hot weather.

"The plan will be to get it repaired today and get water back into people's homes as soon as possible."

One of the organisation's Emergency Repair Crews is currently on the way to the scene.

It is thought that the problem occurred overnight, with the first reports coming in at around 6am. Water can be seen flowing from the road into the nearby River Croal.

Drivers travelling between Darcy Lever and Farnworth have been forced to plough through the water, with some unable to travel across the road at all.

Steve Adamson, who drives down the road every day to get to work, said: "I only just got through the water this morning it was that deep.

"I have seen other people struggling to even get through it. They're telling us that you can't use a hosepipe in the Summer and there's water just being wasted there.

"It's a road that's pretty popular so loads of people go through here every day."

Another resident, who had just driven through the flood, added: "It came up to near the bottom of my car door, when I first saw it I didn't know if it would even get through."

United Utilities personnel have confirmed that the issue is now resolved and all properties should be reconnected to their water supply.