As the last of 30 million litres of water trickle back into the River Lea, neighbours affected by Tuesday’s burst pipe in the now aptly named Waterworks Lane are beginning to count the cost.

People in the nearby Paradise Park flats can only stand by and watch teams from Thames Water pump out the last of their underground car park, which was left under six feet of water on Tuesday morning.

Belongings, including a pair of illegally parked and dirty cars, a selection of storage containers and odd bits of clothing are only now becoming visible after 24 hours under water.

“This is the second time now this car park has flooded,” Kriss Lee told the Gazette.

“It’s on a flood plain, so what do you expect?”

The land, he says, was occupied by a canal dock until 1966. “Well, it’s a dock again, I suppose,” he said.

Max Scott-Slade, 33, has been left with no power or water.

“It has been a very stressful last few days,” he said.

“The water being pumped out is only half the problem – it has potentially structurally damaged the building due to the pressure on the walls.”

He added: “The whole system needs to be drained, which could take weeks, apparently, and sharing externally located showers and toilets is degrading.

“The only upside is our neighbours have come together in true London spirit and have helped each other through it.”

Others seemed to have had an easier time of it.

Shop worker Marry Jay, who had to be evacuated by the fire brigade on a raft yesterday, was this morning back to work at Archi, off Lea Bridge Road, with little trouble.

She and shop owner Mrs Kumalnan had nothing but praise for the for the clean-up effort.

“It’s excellent,” said Marry, 56. “I’m surprised how fast the clean up has been, but I do feel sorry for those who had stuff in the underground car park.”

Thames Water engineers at the site said they had stopped the flow from the now sizeable crater made by the burst Victorian pipe next to the Princess of Wales pub, and expected repairs to take “about a month”.

The supplier has confirmed it will cover the cost of damages or loss caused by the flood, as well as crediting customers whose supply ends up being off longer than 48 hours.

It has no estimate as yet of the cost of fixing the pipe or covering insurance claims.

Fire brigade station manager Jason Frisby said last night: “Firefighters worked hard to reduce the impact of the burst water main on local homes and commercial properties.

“We worked with Thames Water and the Environment Agency to divert the clean water into the nearby River Lea and asked people to avoid Lea Bridge Road and the surrounding area.

“This was an extensive flood. Fortunately we are well equipped to deal with flooding but it is certainly quite unusual for firefighters to have to rescue people with inflatable boats in the capital.”

About 40 firefighters from Homerton, Stoke Newington, Bethnal Green and Euston stations were sent to the scene, and spent more than 10 hours there yesterday.

A Thames Water spokesperson said the pipe that burst had not been due for replacement.

“Following any burst on our trunk mains – the biggest pipes in our network – we carry out a full investigation,” she said, “including analysis of the damaged section of pipe.

“If this concludes the rest of the pipe could need relining or replacing then it will be factored in to our investment plans for the future.

“We have replaced around two thirds of Hackney’s smaller water distribution pipes since 2010, more than in many other parts of London, although not the larger trunk mains, like the one that burst this week.

“Replacing trunk mains is a huge undertaking so it’s generally done when there is need and with a long-term plan, not just because other pipes in the area have been upgraded.

“When we look at where to focus our investment we will replace those pipes which are most in need first, so this doesn’t always mean the oldest or biggest are replaced first, as a number of factors cause pipes to deteriorate including the geology of the area.”

She added £11.7billion would be invested in the network by 2025, including plans to replace 705km of water mains and an extra £2.1bn to improve the pipes’ resilience.

Are you affected by the flooding? Call the news desk on 020 7433 0110.