Overflowing toilet floods Oscars venue minutes before ceremony begins

Twitter picture from Lynette Rice of the Dolby Theatre where the Oscars were being hosted last night

Oscars 2013 hopefuls arriving at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles last night had to navigate inch-deep water after a pipe burst in the lavatories.

Those arriving for Hollywood’s most glittering occasion of the year were forced to hitch up the fabric of their voluminous skirts after the ladies toilets overflowed flooding the lobby.

Pictures were tweeted of the cleaning staff frantically sweeping the water away just prior to the opening curtain.

Lynette Rice posted a picture, above, on the social networking site, with the caption: "Flood at the Oscars! Great day to be a star."

LA City Fire department could not confirm the cause of the leak.

The 85th Academy Awards went off otherwise without a hitch. Although actress Jennifer Lawrence tripped and fell up the stairs on her way to collect her Best Actress gong.