A busy shopping street on the border of Hackney is still closed after becoming flooded due to a pipe explosion on Wednesday morning.

Blackstock Road, bordered by boroughs Hackney and Islington, was deluged by water after heavy rainfall put pressure on the Victorian pipes outside the City and Islington College at the Finsbury Park end of the road. Engineers from Thames Water have been working at the location to get the road reopened.

A Thames Water spokesman said: “We’re very sorry to people affected by the closure of Blackstock Road. The pipe is now fixed and we’re focusing all efforts on getting the road repaired and reopened early next week.”

Although local residents said the disruption to business and travel was problematic, they were more concerned about the lack of information they had received on the nature of the work being carried out and its timeframe.

Daniel Rogers, a student, wanted more signposting to keep residents informed. Rogers said: “The most annoying thing is nobody actually knows what’s going on, all I know is they’ve dug up a road.”

Maria Baamonde and Catherine Murphy, both students, warned of the dangers of quick fixes, calling instead for a focus on upgrading the underground pipe system.

Murphy added that the government should be investing more in inner city London to help people in the capital cope better with the aftermath of bad weather.