A LEAK caused a mini flood near a busy supermarket on the day the hosepipe ban came into force.

Shoppers and drivers were disrupted by a torrent of water on the A27 on Friday near Tesco in Bursledon, just before the Windhover roundabout.

This was hours before the hosepipe ban kicked in at 5pm.

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Marcus Viner was one Tesco shopper affected by the leak.

The 60-year-old told the Echo: "On the day they are banning hosepipes, it is a shame that they can't fix a leak. They can't have it both ways.

"There are low water levels, but they are still asking to use more water out of the (River) Test.

"I think if they focused more on meeting their targets to stop water leaks, it would be better for everyone."

As the country faces its driest conditions since 1976, Southern Water had to apply for a drought permit to use water from the River Test.

The company needed permission to use the water after the Southampton river dropped below its usual minimum level.

But another shopper, Jonathan Pottle, did not agree.

The 57-year-old customer said: "I do not think they can do much about it.

"All they can do it just get out here and fix it as soon as possible. But they can't really do much about it if it is a burst pipe.

"These things happen. It is a rare occurrence. If you have water leaking out of a river, then you have a problem.

"There is a lot of water leaking out. It must be a mains leak."

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “We apologise for any disruptions this may be causing. We’d like to thank the customer who told us about this leak.

"We’re investing heavily in intelligent network technology to help us locate leaks faster, but customers still provide a vital service by alerting us.”

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