Jaguar Land Rover closes plant in UK as weather hits water supply

LONDON (Reuters) - Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has halted production at a car plant in central England after water supplies in Britain were disrupted by burst pipes, the carmaker and water company Severn Trent said on Monday.

A spokeswoman for JLR said the company closed its Solihull site, near Birmingham, and she was unable to say when it would reopen.

"Due to a water shortage caused by a burst water main, we have had to stop production this afternoon," she said.

In London, thousands of people were left without water as the return of normal temperatures, following the worst snowstorms in Britain for nearly 30 years, caused pipes to burst.

Severn Trent, which serves densely populated areas of central England, said that it was also facing challenges as it worked to keep schools and hospitals open.

"Due to the recent thaw we've experienced, our teams are dealing with a huge number of burst pipes across our region which is putting pressure on our network," Severn Trent said in a statement.

"We've worked closely with Jaguar Land Rover which has agreed to stop production to help us target our supply."

The Solihull plant is one of the Indian-owned automaker's three vehicle production sites in Britain.

The factory employs 10,000 people and usually operates 24-hours-a-day to make cars including Range Rover and Discovery sports utility vehicles, the JLR spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by William Schomberg and Guy Faulconbridge)