A 40ft-high water fountain full of rocks and other debris rained down on a street.

Residents were woken up at 4.30am yesterday when a water pipe exploded creating a 30ft wide crater at the junction of St James Road and Tennyson Street, in Highfields, Leicester.

The extreme high pressure of the pipe caused water to reach third floor windows.

Music promoter Derek Roberts, 49, from Tennyson Street, who took our picture, was woken up by the noise.

He said: "It sounded like a storm or a monsoon downpour but when I opened the curtains I couldn't believe my eyes.

"The water was gushing up really high and there was a river flowing down the middle of the street with stones flying out hitting the cars."

Severn Trent received a call at 5.10am and were on the scene within 20 minutes to stem the flow of water from the pipe.

Rachel Legh-Smith, 38, of Tennyson Street said: "It sounded like heavy rain mixed with a car engine."

A spokesman for Severn Trent, said the road was closed while they dug down and replaced the damaged section.

St James Road and a section of Tennyson Street remained closed yesterday evening.