Works to repair a road which faced a large sinkhole after a water main burst have been have been extended, delaying it's re-opening. 

A section of Hullbridge Road, Rayleigh, collapsed during the early hours of Sunday morning (May 9) after one of the 28-inch cast iron water mains fractured and caused serious damage to the road. 

As a result, the road was closed in both directions and bus services were affected.

Essex and Suffolk Water immediately launched urgent repairs, which were initially expected to have been fully completed by today.

However, due to the scale of the burst, the work has taken longer than expected.

It is now set to be completed and for the road to be fully re-opened by Monday morning (May 17).

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A spokesperson from Essex and Suffolk Water said: “We are still working hard on repairs following the burst of a 28” water main on Hullbridge Road, Rayleigh, last Sunday.

“As the burst was of a significant size, the work has taken longer than expected and we have had to put the road structure back in accordance with the Highways Authority.

“We expect the work to be completed and for the road to be fully reinstated by Monday morning (May 17).

“We would like to apologise to local residents, and are sorry for the inconvenience caused. For further updates, please visit our Twitter account @eswater_care.”