Hundreds of hospital patients and staff were left without water at Bradford Royal Infirmary after a mains supply was damaged.

Nine operations were postponed yesterday after building contractors fractured the water main on Smith Lane, which runs alongside the hospital, at 3pm.

A spokesman for Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust said that none of the postponed cases were life-threatening and that no patients had had to be transferred to another hospital.

Hospital chiefs launched contingency plans to tackle the shortage, which also affected the city's new Accident and Emergency Department.

More than 5,000 bottles of drinking water were distributed around the site and an extra 700 pints of milk made available to drink.

Patients were issued with disposable bed pans as there was no water to flush toilets, making them unusable.

Two operating theatres were re-opened within two hours and the water supply returned to normal at 6.30pm after being re-routed by Yorkshire Water.

Director of Patient Care at Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, Rose Stephens, today apologised for any inconvenience caused to patients.

She said: "This incident was entirely out of our hands but staff responded quickly, working tirelessly to keep disruption to an absolute minimum."

The cold water supply was cut as external contractors worked on extending the hospital's biochemistry department.

Six of the postponed operations were re-scheduled for last night, with the remaining three planned for today.

BRI's separate maternity unit and St Luke's Hospital, where water is essential for dialysis in the renal unit, were not affected.

Last night Yorkshire Water was on stand-by with 3,000 bottles of water as the contractors worked to repair the main supply.

A company spokesman said: "We were only too pleased to help out as we work closely with Bradford Royal Infirmary and other organisations.

"Initial tests show that the water quality is very good."