MOTORISTS visiting Princess Margaret Hospital were stuck in queues of traffic as workers battled to fix a burst water main.

The main burst on Sunday and Thames Water moved in immediately to fix a five-inch diameter pipe that had split.

But work was still continuing yesterday afternoon, leading to traffic chaos in Okus Road.

It is unclear whether a five-feet wide hole in the road was caused by the burst or by workmen digging to fix the pipe.

Temporary measures were installed to keep cars moving but some people found themselves trapped in the hospital's car park for up to 20 minutes as queues grew.

The work was expected be completed last night.

Andrew Boyd, a spokesman for Thames Water said: " We are sorry that it has affected traffic but there's nothing else than can be done. At least it didn't affect the hospital's supplies."