A NUMBER of houses have been left without running water or with a reduced supply on Christmas Day.

United Utilities and firefighters were called out to Nelson just before 11.25am and remain at the scene.

United Utilities have blamed the problem on a leak in Bracewell Street.

But firefighters from Nelson Station have been called to nearby Southfield Street to divert water and prevent houses being flooded.

United Utilities have posted a series of updates.

At 11.25am a spokesman said: "You may have noticed that the water is coming out of your tap slower than usual or may have gone off altogether. We have one of our inspectors looking into this at the moment and as soon as we know what the cause of the problem is we’ll let you know.

"We’re sorry about this and will try and get your taps flowing normally as quickly as we can. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we know what’s causing the problem."

At 12.15pm they said: "A leak on Bracewell Street has been spotted and reported to us. Our inspector is on his way to see if this to be the cause for some of you having no water or just a trickle.

"We’re sorry for the trouble this may be causing you and we will get your taps flowing normally again as quickly as we can."

At 1.45pm they said: "Our engineer has attended and confirmed the issue in the area is caused by large leak on Bracewell Street.

"A team of engineers has been requested to attend and will be on site as soon as possible. We’re sorry for the trouble this may be causing you and we will get your taps flowing normally again as quickly as we can."

Just before 3pm they said: "We have requested a number of water on wheels tankers attend to the area and they will start pumping into a number of different locations shortly, this will help maintain water supplies in the area until we can fix the leak."

At 3.40pm they posted: "Our team of engineers have arrived onsite and started to dig down to repair the burst water main on Bracewell Street.

"Our engineers have requested for the water to be turned off just for a short time to enable them to carry out the repairs.

"We're sorry for the trouble this may be causing and we will get this fixed as soon as possible."

At 4.50pm they said: "Our engineers remain on site at Bracewell Street exposing the leaking pipe. Due to the location of the leak, this will be a complex repair so our team will remain on site throughout the course of the evening.

"Our water on wheels vehicles are in place, pumping water into the network to help restore and maintain supplies to some properties whilst we work on site. However some of you may notice you have no water or low pressure until the repair is complete.

"Thank you for your patience."

At 6.20pm they said:"Our engineers are still on site at Bracewell Street working hard to restore water supplies to the area. Due to the complex nature of the repair our engineers will remain on site throughout the course of the evening.

"Our water on wheels tankers are still on site pumping water back into the network to help restore and maintain supplies.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this may be causing and are working hard to try and get this resolved as quickly as we can."

A fire service spokesman said: "Two fire engines and crews from Nelson have been assigned to an incident at which a water main under the road at Southfield Street in the town has burst, lifting the cobbles and threatening to flood houses.

"Firefighters are at work diverting the water and United Utilities personnel are in attendance to isolate the water supply. There are no casualties."

Just after 2pm the spokesman said: "United Utilities have isolated the supply to the burst main and firefighters remain at the scene pumping away the residual surface water."