WORKMEN were to work through the night yesterday in an effort to fix a water leak that brought flooding to a busy high street.

Water has been leaking onto Yarm High Street since the weekend, adding to the traffic congestion that plagues the area during peak times.

A Northumbrian Water spokeswoman said it was informed of the leak on Sunday and had officials out to the site immediately.

However the faulty main took a while to track down, she said.

"There are a lot of water mains in that area, so it was quite difficult to pinpoint which main had the leak," she said.

"But it has now been identified. Additionally, we needed to get permission from highways officials to have traffic management in order to carry out the repair work."

Workmen were to begin the repairs at 10pm and, if needed, would be working through the night to correct the problem, which is close to Worsall Road.

"We will do everything we can to get the repair fixed, even if it means working through the night," said the spokeswoman.

"However, the workmen could possibly still be there in the morning if the problem is more serious, but we will try to keep disruption to a minimum."