Workmen caused a wet weekend in a Morden street when they damaged a water main on Saturday.

An accident at 12.30pm left water from the mains in Green Lane shooting hundreds of feet into the air.

Richard Swaffield, who lives in nearby Douglas Square, said: “I saw it out of the window. It was spurting out for seven or eight hours - the kids were out there with bodyboards.

“When it happened some of my neighbours started filling their baths up with water, but luckily there didn’t seem to be any impact on the supply.”

Workers contracted to Merton Council were changing the road layout in preparation for the area’s new 20mph speed limit when the accident happened.

Councillor William Brierly, cabinet member for planning and traffic management, said: “We appreciate residents' patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the damaged water main. We are working with our contractor to investigate the causes of the damage so we can try and avoid this happening again.”