After almost 12 hours without water, the supply to Maidstone returned shortly before 1pm.

Most of the town centre was left with low pressure or no water after the 12-inch main at the bottom of Pudding Lane burst in the early hours.

Homes near the A20 may also be without water due to a separate leak, which South East Water is working to fix.

It was Kent Police who alerted the water company to the situation on the High Street at 1.30am.

The company sent engineers to the scene to restore supplies, and pallets of bottled water were placed on the streets.

Shortly before midday, workmen installed a new three metre section of pipe, and fed water through it slowly to reinstate supply to homes and businesses affected.

Video: Burst water main in Maidstone High Street

Homes and businesses on the High Street and neighbouring roads, including Pudding Lane, Gabriels Hill, Week Street and Earl Street were without a supply.

South East Water apologised to those affected.

One of the firms affected was The Stylers, a new High Street salon that had its grand opening today.

Ozlem Kanik, a spokeswoman for the hairdressers said: "We have no hot water at the moment and we don't know when it will be back on, but the event is still going ahead and we look forward to welcoming people to the new salon."

Cllr Malcolm Greer, deputy mayor of Maidstone, cut the ribbon on the new business at 11am.

In February a burst at the top of Gabriels Hill, further down the High Street, saw water gushing down the road.

Businesses in that part of the town were without water again today.

A member of staff at Cornell and Sons, a jewellers on Gabriels Hill, said he heard from his window cleaner when he got into work this morning.

"We haven't had an email or anything to tell us the water's out, and I think most businesses on the street are affected," he said.

Shops in The Mall also struggled, with McDonalds unable to serve drinks, and Supercuts and Jagged Edge salons unable to do washes. Greggs also had to close.

The public toilets in the centre remained open as usual however.

Bills Restaurant on Week Street was closed until midday, but opened for the afternoon when the water came back.

Dash Suli, owner of Leah's Bistro on the High Street, confirmed that the restaurant was still open for business, offering their usual range of hot and cold food and cakes.

The High Street is closed between Mill Street and Pudding Lane, which is affecting bus services through the centre of the town.

Sam Chan, owner of SHQ salon in Pudding Lane, said the staff were working from a back-up tank this morning, but afternoon appointments would have to be cancelled.

"We're in a bit of a pickle over here," she said, "I can't ring people and say 'come in' on the off chance the water is back on by then, so the afternoon appointments will have to be cancelled."

A spokesman for Fremlin Walk confirmed that all shops had been affected, meaning many of the food and drink outlets were having difficulties serving certain products.

The public toilets in the centre were also closed.

Buses have also been diverted due to the closure between Mill Street and Pudding Lane, and operators have warned services may be disrupted.

A worker at The Brenchley pub in Jubilee Square said there was no hot running water in the kitchen and the toilets weren't working. They discovered the situation around 7.30am.

The pub was due to open at 10am and signs telling customers the venue is closed have been prepared. It later opened when the water came back.

The Muggleton Inn was also closed until the early afternoon.

Doo Das hair and beauty salon in Bank Street remained open, with staff using their back-up water tank.

Some businesses on Earl Street were also affected, with Wildwood, on the corner of Pudding Lane and Earl Street, forced to close until 1pm, and Ask Italian also cancelling the morning service.

A spokesman said: "We are without water at the moment, so we are closed until 1pm. We've been told the water should be on around 12.30pm, but we will remain closed while the supply is out."

South East Water said people should call 0333 000 0365 for updates.

Desmond Brown, South East Water’s incident manager, said: "Our specialist technicians are also altering the flow of water around our network of underground pipes to try and restore supplies to as many people as possible.

"However this may take time because we need to put water back into the network in a controlled manner to prevent further bursts occurring.

"Our main priority now is to get tap water supplies back on as soon as possible. We would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this emergency has caused, but hope our customers understand that we are taking all necessary steps to restore supplies as soon as possible."

The water shortage came hours after homes in Ashford were left high and dry last night, after a main burst.