The Sheppey Crossing was closed on Wednesday afternoon to allow a special water pump to be installed to get emergency supplies to the island to fight fires.

A fire engine, two support vehicles and the high-volume pump, capable of clearing 7,000 litres a minute, was brought in to transfer water from a fire hydrant at Kingsferry Bridge to Cowstead Corner using a 5km hosepipe.

Reporter John Nurden talks about the efforts to restore the Island's water supply

Traffic backed up to Sittingbourne while the crossing was closed as a fire crew from Whitstable laid the pipe along the inside lane of the Island-bound carriageway.

The road was reopened just after 6pm but the inside lane was later cordoned off with cones.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service area manager David Escudier said: “We have a high-volume pump hose running from the Sheppey Crossing onto the island to refill fire engines to ensure firefighting resilience and to provide water to livestock that would otherwise use public drinking water until fire hydrant supply on the island is fully available and sufficient."

Commuters on Thursday morning had a surprise when they were greeted by a water fountain at the Kingsferry Bridge when the hose burst while filling a fire engine for livestock water.

A KFRS spokeswoman said: "This can happen from time to time. It did not cause any significant hazard and the affected length was quickly replaced."

The road will be closed again between midnight and 4am on Saturday when the hose is taken away.

Some drivers reported being stuck in their cars for up to three hours, including pupils on school buses, when the bridge was first closed. There were also long queues on the M2 to Gillingham.

Islanders have been without water for two days as they sweltered in a heatwave. Finally today the Kent Resilience Forum escalated it to a major incident.

Swale council said: “We’ve activated our emergency protocols as we have declared the water shortage on the Isle of Sheppey as a major incident.

“The initial Southern Water mains pipe burst was repaired overnight but during the network refill in the early hours of the morning a second burst occurred."

This evening Southern Water said a post on what looked like its official Twitter feed, claiming that the repaired main carrying water to the Island had burst again, was fake.

It added: "Our plans are progressing well."

Some residents in Sheerness began reporting that water was returning at about 9pm.

Kent Highways said earlier today: "The A249 northbound between the B2006 (Bobbing) and A2500 (Queenborough) has been closed to facilitate the installation of temporary water pumps following a water shortage on the Isle of Sheppey due to a burst water main.

"Traffic is being diverted via the old Kingsferry Bridge and Sheppey Way. Please allow extra time for your journey and expect long delays in the surrounding area as a result."

Delays were made worse by unconfirmed reports of a crash on the A249 at Bobbing.

Hundreds of drivers were trapped in the traffic. One mother-of-two said: "I can't even get out of Sittingbourne. All the roads are gridlocked. I have no idea what I'm going to do. I may have to spend the night in a hotel."

The road closure was the latest hurdle for Islanders who have already been without water for the past two days.

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