WESSEX Water has apologised after a 40-metre section of cast iron water main burst for the third time in a month on a major route into Poole.

The latest incident took place in Blandford Road, Hamworthy, during the early hours of Tuesday, causing households at Turlin Moor to lose their supply.

Eight vans toured the estate giving out bottled water on request. Some was also left at a local convenience store.

The water company issued a warning for motorists to expect rush-hour delays. It initially planned to re-install four-way temporary traffic lights while emergency work was being carried out.

But workmen only had to close one lane, minimising traffic disruption, before the supply was restored at about 10.30am.

The two previous bursts caused chaos on the road, an important access into and out of Poole port. During the busiest times, traffic backed up between the Turlin Road junction and Upton by-pass.

Wessex Water spokesman Ian Drury said: “We believe a weakness in the water main, possibly caused by the amount of traffic using Blandford Road, led to the three bursts.

“As a temporary measure we have abandoned the section of water main between Turlin Road and Allens Lane to reduce the likelihood of another burst and we are now supplying local people with water from a different part of our supply network.

“We are looking into how we can make improvements to prevent this from happening again, which may involve renewing sections of water main in the area.

“To have three bursts along the same section of water main is extremely unusual and we apologise for the inconvenience it has caused.”

Wessex Water is renewing almost 200 miles of water mains across its region by 2015.