DOZENS of students have been forced into Bournemouth hotels after a water leak evacuated Lansdowne Point halls in the early hours of Thursday morning.

An alarm was sounded at approximately 3:30am and students were not allowed back in for nearly eight hours.

Pasha Eglit, who doesn’t live there but was in the building with a friend at the time, said: “If students have exams or presentations, they can’t get their laptops. Some students are not aware of what the standards should be.”

The building is owned by Kaplan, whose communications manager, Elizabeth Hess, said: “The ground and floors one to three were affected by a leak which came from a burst hot water pipe in the raised ceiling.

“Following a short time outside the safety cordon, students were moved inside initially to neighbouring buildings and drinks, food and water were provided throughout the time the students were unable to access the building.

“64 students living in the affected floors were relocated either to other rooms within the building or, in the case of 35 students, to local hotels nearby. We believe all students in hotels can return to their accommodation this weekend.”