Oxfam’s Oxford headquarters, which is owned by Sutton Council, has been forced to temporarily shut due to flooding – affecting more than 800 workers.

Oxfam House, in John Smith Drive, Cowley, was bought by the authority for nearly £30 million and has been rented out to the charity.

But office-based staff will be unable to work in the building until around mid-March, at the earliest, because of water damage to its “core services, including electrical and data systems”.

The council says it's aware of the incident and is working with its insurer to assess the damage before reinstating the property “as soon as possible” so Oxfam can return.

An initial assessment concluded the problem was caused by a burst pipe overnight, while staff have been working remotely from home or in temporary office spaces nearby.

Oxfam chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah said: “Our priority has been to ensure that our vital life-saving and life-changing work around the world is not affected.

“Staff have been working tirelessly implementing our contingency plans and ensuring that our back-up systems are working.”

He admitted some people trying to get in touch “may have experienced some delays”, before adding: “We have been working hard to restore services and apologise for any inconvenience.”

A spokesman told the Oxford Mail that the building “needs to dry out” before any work is undertaken, insisting to donators that Oxfam’s work will continue.

There are 825 members of staff who work in Oxfam House but “not everyone works from the office all the time”.

Mr Sriskandarajah added: “We continue to review the situation and update our contingency plans. Clearly, the safety and wellbeing of our staff is paramount, so we will only reopen the building when we are advised it is safe to do so.

“We are very grateful for the offers of support from other businesses and organisations in Oxford.”

Sutton Guardian reported in November 2016 how the council had bought the Oxfam headquarters for £29,898,000.

It had been previously run by Aviva Investors Pension Property (AIPP) and the charity’s main base since 2005, with the authority’s plan to buy it from AIPP and rent it out to Oxfam.

A Sutton Council spokesman said: “Sutton Council is aware of the recent flooding at Oxfam House and the impact caused. Our insurer has been asked to assess the damage and to reinstate the property as soon as possible in order for Oxfam to return.

“As this matter is being dealt with through insurers any practical and financial issues will follow the insurance claim procedure.”