A “large” burst water pipe in the early hours this morning has forced part of a major road to close.

Road users have been advised to avoid the A414 between Hatfield and Holwell as the closure is causing long delays on the approach to Park Street Roundabout.

There is also knock-on congestion on the approach from North Orbital Road towards the roundabout.

Herts Police tweeted the warning at around 12am before Affinity Water issued an update ahead of rush hour.

Affinity Water tweeted: “We’re sorry to say that due to a large burst in Hatfield, the westbound carriageway on the A414 has been closed this morning. Our teams are on site working hard to get this fixed as soon as possible.”

According to its website, “due to the depth of the pipework, this is taking longer than anticipated” – which has also caused some homes in Hatfield to lose their water supply.

“Due to the traffic conditions, we’ve temporarily closed the westbound carriage way on the A414 so our team can work safely,” it said.

“We’re really sorry if this causes any disruption to your journeys.”