A main road in Lewisham is closed indefinitely after a hole opened up due to a burst water main.

Passengers on a coach had to be rescued by London Fire Brigade after their vehicle got stuck in the hole in Lee High Road on Saturday night (November 26).

The road, the A20 close to Lewisham town centre, was flooded after the 24-inch pipe burst near Lidl and people in surrounding areas were left without water.

Police declared a major incident, with a shelter for "displaced" people set up at the nearby Leemore Centre in Bonfield Road.

All the floodwater was evetually drained away allowing for road repairs and a clean-up between Loampit Vale and Manor Park and for the recovery of the stuck coach.

Pedestrians and drivers were urged to avoid the area, with buses on diversion.

The road is still off limits to traffic but has since opened to pedestrians. 

All water supplies in the area returned to normal yesterday (Novmeber 27) but other lines, including gas mains, are hindering repairs. 

A Thames Water spokeswoman said: "We’re sorry for the disruption our burst pipe has caused.

"It’s unclear at this stage how long the repairs will take but we’ll be doing all we can to reopen the road as soon as it’s safe to do so."

Les Chapman, managing director of Data Cars, said: "We were crippled on Saturday night as we lost hundreds of calls from local residents.

"We are waiting for an electrician as we have complete power failure to our driver liaison and driver training offices so we cannot deal with any drivers until we are back up and running."