Norwich city centre was brought to a stand still after roads were forced to close after a water main sprung a leak.

Norwich Evening News: Exchange Street closed due to water main leak. Picture : ANTONY KELLYExchange Street closed due to water main leak. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

Water burst through the tarmac on Exchange Street on Tuesday, August 29 which led to the street and Gaol Hill closing.

This caused large jams as traffic was directed from St. Giles back up Bethel Street creating a gridlock of vehicles.

This then backed up onto the inner ring road causing further delays as far back as Ketts Hill, two miles down the road on the opposite side of the city.

On the city's buses, First Group tweeted that services were running with at least a 40 minute delay.

Norwich Evening News: Thorns sales assistant Glen Gates outside the shop. Picture : ANTONY KELLYThorns sales assistant Glen Gates outside the shop. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

Staff at Thorns DIY watched the leak as it developed and begun to flood the street before they phoned the police.

They feared that the surface was coming loose and as the store's basement goes under the road a sinkhole could have emerged.

Customer assistant Glen Gates said how the 'road surface seemed to be moving around like a waterbed' and that 'if it happened while deliveries were going on, all it would have taken was the wrong vehicle in the wrong place and they could have fallen through.

'We had vehicles coming down the road this morning [Wednesday, August 30] and mounting the pavement to get around it.'

Norwich Evening News: Thorns sales assistant Glen Gates outside the shop. Picture : ANTONY KELLYThorns sales assistant Glen Gates outside the shop. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

'It's crazy how one little road affects the whole city.' He added.

Else where in the street though businesses were welcoming the quiet,

Florence Orme, manager of the Woolf and Bird said: 'If anything we have been busier, I originally thought it would be a lot worse as the police had come down but it wasn't.

'We had a phone call from our delivery saying they would be late but that wasn't a problem.

A spokesman for Anglian Water said: 'Repair to the leak was completed over night with our engineers working until around 4am on Wednesday.'

The road is expected to be open again tomorrow morning with the work being completed through the night.

The spokesman continued: 'Anglian Water apologises for any inconvenience caused by the works.'