Piles of flood debris heaped on a city centre road after a huge water pipe burst had to be shifted by a JCB as part of a massive clean-up operation.

This morning a stretch of road between Lumb Lane and Carlisle Road in Manningham was shut for repairs causing traffic congestion for commuters.

Many Bradford homes were left without water last night for up to three hours while and inner city roads were turned into running rivers feet deep after one of the city’s main water supply pipes burst in White Abbey Road, Girlington, just before 9pm.

Emergency services were called to City Road after reports of people trapped in cars in floodwater, one of the first on the scene was Bradford Fire Station watch commander Alan Jordan who described what he saw as “surreal”.

“An ambulance had already got there and managed to drive past about five cars that were stuck in the water. Everyone had managed to get out and some had sought refuge in a nearby mill to escape.

“It was surreal. Water was flowing fast like a torrent as far into the city as you could see. There were lots of people milling about as well as the rescue services. The worry was people could be trapped. It was straight out of a disaster movie,” he said.

Workers in a mill in city road and passers-by who had taken shelter there made their way to higher floors in fear of the rising water as firefighters wearing life-jackets searched other nearby properties.

Watch commander Jordan said: “It would have been impossible to walk across Thornton Road, the waters would have taken you.”

Engineers from Yorkshire Water battled to isolate the burst, from the pipe known as the Bradford Main Ring, and re-route supplies to homes and services.

Once isolated the over-burdened drains were able to start coping with the flood water and take it away, but affected roads were left strewn with rubble and bricks - a JCB had to be brought in to help re-open City Road.

Homes in postcodes that had been affected by the loss of water included Manningham, Eccleshill, Laisterdyke, Bierley and Shipley - not all were without water, some just experienced low pressure.

Early this morning Yorkshire Water officials were in the White Abbey Road area to assess damage caused and to meet with affected property owners.