A burst water main in South Croydon could cause traffic jams on a busy road for another week.

A “massive hole” appeared in Coombe Road this week which Thames Water is working to repair.

There could be traffic disruption for another 10 days as Croydon Council has permitted a road closure until April 24 for work to be carried out.

The South Croydon Community Association said there was a hole on this part of the road, at the junction with Heathfield Road, last year too. 

A pipe under the road burst on Sunday and the road has been closed since then.

In a post on its Facebook page, the association said: “It’s causing traffic issues in the area. Speaking to the workmen they say it’s a bigger problem than the hole that appeared in the same spot as last year and will take some time to fix.

“Roads affected are, Coombe Road, closed between Park Lane & Brighton Road, and further up Coombe Road, toward Park Hill, where there are temporary traffic lights causing traffic jams.

"Heathfeild Road is closed to through traffic.

"There’s no left hand turn at the traffic lights into Coombe Road from St Peter’s Road, by Ruskin House.”

A spokesperson for Thames Water said while fixing the problem, workers found other leaks in the same area and have had to make the hole bigger than it first was.

They said: “We’re sorry for any disruption the work on our water main is causing.

“We began digging up the road on Sunday when the pipe first burst and since then have found other leaks along the same stretch that we’re also fixing, meaning we’ve had to make the hole in the road bigger than it initially was.

"We hope to finish our repairs and have the hole filled in by the end of next week.”