Firefighters had to evacuate 20 people after water from a burst pipe close to King’s Cross station flooded nearby homes.

Pentonville Road has been shut since around 4am this morning (August 18) after water began to cascade from the leak.

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters responded to the incident.

London Fire Brigade also sent a water rescue team to the scene to help evacuate affected people, after floodwater entered the basements of multiple homes and shops.

Firefighters continued to work at the scene throughout the morning, using flood barriers to divert water.

The incident was stood down at around 11.15am, but Pentonville Road remains shut while flood water recedes.

Traffic has been diverted in the area, along with 11 bus routes. King’s Cross station was not affected by the flooding, and has remained open throughout the day.

The buses impacted are routes 17, 30, 46, 63, 73, 91, 205, 214, 259, 390 and 476.

Large sections of Pentonville Road were underwater earlier todayLarge sections of Pentonville Road were underwater earlier today (Image: Supplied)

Thames Water has apologised for the disruption, and said that engineers were on site with emergency services.

It added that customers’ water supply had not been impacted by the leak.

The burst pipe comes in an area that has been impacted by multiple leaks in recent years, something which Thames Water has blamed on old Victorian pipes.

At the end of last year, two leaks caused flooding in King’s Cross Road.

The water company recently started a £20 million, three year project to improve the water network in the area.

In total, 1.2 miles of pipes that supply water to around 7,000 homes are expected to be replaced.

A water rescue team was sent to the scene by London Fire BrigadeA water rescue team was sent to the scene by London Fire Brigade (Image: LFB)

Islington Council earlier urged people to avoid the area impacted by flooding, and said that members of its emergency response team where at the scene.

London Fire Brigade added that it had been using a drone to help survey the area impacted by flooding, totalling roughly 250 square metres between Penton Rise and King’s Cross Road.

Crews from Euston, Islington, Soho and surrounding fire stations all attended the scene.

A cordon remains in place in Pentonville Road, with disruption expected to continue throughout the afternoon.