Businesses and shopkeepers have been left counting the cost after a dramatic geyser flooded Twickenham this week.

The offending water main in King Street, outside Sandys Fishmongers, was penetrated by Thames Water workers on Monday morning.

The damaged pipe resulted in water erupting from the road, creating a fountain-like spectacle, causing major damage to surrounding shops and flats.

Peacock Travel and Tours had to shut on Monday and remained closed until Thursday because of devastation to their computer systems.

Keith Lloyd, manager, said: "We took the full brunt of it unfortunately - when the pipe burst, it was like hailstone hitting our windows.

"The basement was five foot under water and everything had to be done in a hurry.

"We were advised to switch our power off which we did but that unwittingly blew our server and we have only just got it fixed."

He said Thames Water have promised to provide compensation while the insurance claim would come to "quite a lot".

The travel shop, which employs five staff, had been unable to take calls while closed and Mr Lloyd has no way of knowing how much business has been lost as a result.

He added: "There are two flats above us and the people have had to move out - it went so high that it went down their chimneys.

"It all went on their carpets and took everything in the chimneys down with it."

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Sandys Fishmongers was also hit badly by the geyser but was able to open the following day, despite the damage.

Owner Stuart Sandys said: "Luckily we designed our shop to be resilient as it takes a battering every day.

"We went out yesterday [Wednesday] to replace the flowers and have managed to repair the blinds but they will also need to be replaced.

"The ceiling in the front of the shop is ruined and we have builders coming in to look at that soon."

He added the upstairs office "took a battering" also, with windows being destroyed, but has been told it takes a few weeks for most of the damage to come to light.

Thames Water delivered a number of dehumidifiers to affected properties to help dry out the damp.

A spokesman said: "Our workers damaged it by accident while carrying out another job and we’ll be doing everything we can, as fast as we can, to put things right."