THOUSANDS of homes across Greater Manchester have been left without water after a mains pipe burst.

Properties in areas such as Timperley, Sale, Worsley, Stretford and Eccles had no supply following the burst at about 6.15am today.

United Utilities engineers are working to fix the problem but could not say when it is likely to return to normal.

A spokesman for the company said it was currently working to connect households to an alternative supply pipe.

The problem was caused by a ruptured pipe in Stretford.

The United Utilities spokesman said: "The plan is to bring people back on supply by using an alternative source.

"There are a good few thousand households affected, and some will have some supply as we work to fix the problem, while others will not have any.

"Actually fixing the problem may take longer and our priority is to get them all a water supply.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused."

A report on the progress of the repair work is expected later this afternoon.

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