A BURST water main along Westcliff seafront has force three cafes to close during peak lunchtime hours.

The leak, under the pavement in Western Esplanade, outside the Riverside Cafe, sent water pouring into the road from early morning.

It is believed Southend Council street cleaners alerted the Essex and Suffolk water to the issue around 5am this morning.

Engineers arrived at around 6am and hope to have fixed the problem by 4pm.

The Arches cafes remained open this morning, however due to the disruption Riverside Cafe, Coastal Bite and the Jolly Roger have been forced to close from around 11.30am.

It is hoped they will be able to reopen once the leak is fixed.