Tens of thousands of people are left without water across east London after huge pipe bursts - sending residents scrambling to buy bottled supplies from supermarkets

Thousands of people living in East London are without tap water after a 42-inch pipe burst, sending residents rushing to supermarkets to buy bottle supplies. 

The problem was first reported on Tuesday afternoon at around 4.30pm but it was not until nearly midnight that Thames Water discovered the cause of the issue. 

They said the issue, which is still ongoing, was caused by a 'large burst pipe' in the Hackney Marshes area.

They added that engineers will work through the night to fix the 'complex job' as quickly as possible.

Eight of East London's 21 postcodes are still without water, including parts of Leytonstone, East Ham, West Ham and Stratford.   

On affected resident, Gourav Sharma, 37, from Leytonstone, told MailOnline that they had had no water since 4.30pm.

It meant he and his wife Meena were unable to make formula milk for their six-month-old baby, Ishan, and had to rush to a nearby B&M store to buy bottled water. 

A video circulating on social media showed residents scrambling to buy water from a Tesco outlet in Leytonstone.  

Thousands of people living in East London are without tap water after a 42-inch pipe burst, sending residents rushing to supermarkets to buy bottle supplies. 

On affected resident, Gourav Sharma, 37, from Leytonstone, told MailOnline that they have had no water since 4.30pm. It meant he and his wife Meena were unable to make formula milk for their eight-month-old baby, Ishan. Pictured: Mrs Sharma with Ishan 

Thames Water said they were aware customers in postcodes E6, E7, E10, E11, E12, E13, E15, E16 and E20 being affected. 

The areas also include parts of Forest Gate, Leyton, Newham and Plaistow.

Residents first reported a problem just before 5pm this afternoon.

Mr Sharma, who works as a consultant, said: 'The problems started at around 4.30pm. There was no water. 

'It was a surprise, I've never seen it before. I've had no response from Thames Water. '

He said he had to rush to a shop to buy water to make milk for his baby son, Ihsan.  

'We had no choice, we had to go to B&M and pick up some water bottles and there were not many. 

'There's still no water to flush the toilets so we will probably go to our friends' house if this is not rectified in the morning.' 

The father, who is originally from India, added: 'I've been in the UK for the past 12 years, we do face these problems back in India but we use rooftop water tanks which help you survive but here if there's a problem you have no water at all for cleaning or flushing the toilet.'

A video circulating on social media showed residents scrambling to buy water from a Tesco outlet in Leytonstone

He said he spent 30 minutes on the phone to Thames Water but hung up when he was unable to get through.  

Another affected resident told the firm online, 'We currently have no water at all so please rectify the issue speedily & efficiently as you can.' 

A third added: 'Can you please update us with what the issue is that caused such large scale disruption and when will this get fixed. 

'Water is the basic necessity and we need know when can we have them running through our taps again. 

A Thames Water spokesman said: 'We're really sorry to those customers affected by low pressure or no water. 

'This has been caused by a burst on a large pipe in the Hackney Marshes area. We are deploying all resources possible to fix this as a priority. 

'It's a complex job, but we're drafting in more staff and working as quickly as we can so that we can begin a repair as soon as we've pinpointed the damaged section. 

Thames Water earlier said they're of aware customers in postcodes E6, E7, E10, E11, E12, E13, E15, E16 and E20 being affected

They said 'specialist engineers' are working to resolve the problem

'In the meantime, we've brought tankers into the area to improve the situation by pumping water into our local supply network and working as hard as we can to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.  

A video taken inside a Tesco outlet in Leytonstone showed residents filling their trolleys with bottled water. 

Despite the ongoing disruption, some light-hearted residents have joked about the issue online.

One image showed a 'jug of fresh water' being sold on Ebay for £100.  

Another quoted Thames Water's tweet and joked, 'on today's episode of East London'.

Despite the ongoing disruption, some light-hearted residents have already joked about the issue online