PROPERTIES were flooded when a major water main burst in a Kent city on Thursday afternoon.

Paving stones were forced up by the pressure of the water from the main in Whitstable Road, Canterbury.

Rachel Woods, who lives in the road, said: "There was so much water it was like a fast flowing river.

"I have seen people baling out properties and students were sitting on their first floor window sills."

Whitstable Road - one of the main routes into Canterbury - and surrounding roads were closed by emergency services as engineers battled to repair the leak.