Rahel Tekeste, owner of Delina Hair & Beauty Salon in Caledonian Road

THERE was nothing they could do.

When a 30-inch Thames Water main burst in Caledonian Road on Tuesday afternoon, it took less than five minutes for catastrophic flooding to destroy the businesses in its path.

Shop owners could do little more than stand in their doorways and watch as the street became a river which poured into their stores and basements, soaking everything from imported coffee beans, precious antiques, fridge-freezers, surgical dental equipment and vintage posters.

By the following morning “vulture loss adjusters” were allegedly going door to door promising to win better payouts for traumatised business owners.

Around 100 premises were affected by flooding – particularly businesses in Caledonian Road, south of Copenhagen Street – while some 14,000 surrounding properties lost water, including schools, three care homes, and Pentonville Prison.

Mohamed Zakaria had soaked shoes and water running down the stairs of his business, Zac Tailoring, when he spoke to the Tribune on Tuesday. “Within two minutes there was water inside the shop and in my basement as well. This is crazy; my business is under water.

Ali Ahmed of Alibaba Pound Saver

“I have a mortgage and I have children relying on me to survive. I need [money] as an emergency – until I receive money, I won’t be able to pay the rent.”

Part of his income comes from collecting and delivering for a larger company in central London every day.

“As soon as I told him I can’t do the job right now, he gave the contract to another tailor,” Mr Zakaria said.

This was the latest in a series of chaotic floods in Islington over recent years caused by burst water mains – all of them owned by Thames Water, which took over after privatisation in 1989.

Many have not been updated since they were built in the Victorian times, and Thames Water has faced criticism for failing to invest in its infrastructure while paying vast dividends to shareholders and salaries to its executives.

Flooding between Barnsbury Estate and Ewen House, behind Caledonian Road

Eleni Lasheen, who has run her beauty salon So Fab London for 18 years, told the Tribune: “We went to lunch, locked up the shop and then we couldn’t get back in. Literally within three minutes, the water was at hip height. It was so quick. It was mayhem.”

While the flood destroyed equipment and blew out the electricity, Ms Lasheen said she felt “very very lucky” that a large step had stopped water flowing into the treatment rooms in the back.

Wondwosen Belay amid the devastation of his shop, Herran Habesha

She added: “We’re very lucky we’ve got some amazing clients and I’ve been inundated with messages from neighbours and the community offering to come and help us clear up. Cally is a diamond in the rough – it’s lots of different communities but everyone just gets together, and I think that’s really important.”

In the premises underneath Ritson House, Wondwosen Belay’s shop of Ethiopian antiques, Herran Habesha, was badly affected.

“I am still in shock. It happened so quickly and everything is ruined,” said Mr Belay, whose store sells traditional instruments, clothing, crockery and coffee that he personally brings from Ethiopia.

“It takes a lot of work to find these things,” he said. “I can’t replace them. We tried to save as much as we could by putting it up high but it was all so fast.”

A few metres up the road, and Ali Ahmed, who has run his Alibaba Pound Saver for seven years, was lucky in comparison as the water didn’t quite come inside.

Holding the doors closed at Nisa Local in an attempt to keep the water out

“We’re losing business. Who’s going to pay us back? Nobody – or maybe after five years,” he said.

As well as the water from the burst main, toilets were overflowing, pushing sewage water up through the pipes “like magma” – as one resident described it – into the basements where businesses prepare food or store their wares.

Although Thames Water was on site by 3pm on Tuesday, just over an hour after flooding started, and the water was turned off at 4.20pm, it was not fast enough to stop the damage.

On Wednesday, Thames Water workers were pumping flood water out of basements and its loss adjusters were asking businesses for lists of what had been destroyed.

But even this was a painful process, said ward councillor Paul Convery, adding: “The big issue emerging is Thames Water’s loss adjusters are not going to compensate the replacement cost for all the equipment that’s been destroyed.

“If Nisa Local have lost a five-year-old fridge, for example, the loss adjusters are going to give them the cost of a five-year-old fridge, not a new one.

Eleni Lasheen: ‘The water was hip height… it was mayhem’

“It’s real chiseling, cheapskate behaviour by Thames Water. This is an absolutely unacceptable way to treat businesses.”

Cllr Convery also told how he “bumped into vulture loss adjusters” in Caledonian Road who were telling business owners they would be short-changed by Thames Water and should use their services instead.

“These are ambulance chasers,” he added.“It’s disgraceful. They’re selling a promise that might be attractive, and they’ll take a big fat fee if they are successful.”

The Caledonian Road Traders Association has set up a fundraiser to help businesses get back on their feet.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We would like to again apologise to those who have been affected by the burst water main in Caledonian Road on Tuesday, February 24.

The scene on Tuesday as Caledonian Road turned into a river

“All customers should have their water supply restored although they may experience some intermittent loss of pressure whilst we carry out the repair, which will be complex.

“Our teams worked overnight and made good progress with the excavation to reach the damaged pipe. A large split has been identified, along with a significant underground void, and we are now pumping water out of that space before beginning the repair work.

“Customer representatives and loss adjusters will be on the site today to assist anyone who has been affected by flooding.”

• To donate to support local businesses go to https://tinyurl.com/callyfloods