Homes without water for third day after burst pipe

Some properties in West Kent are without water for a third day, after a pipe from a treatment works burst.

People in Brenchley, Matfield, Pembury, Lamberhurst and surrounding villages lost their supply on Thursday morning after the fault on a key main from Bewl Water Treatment Works, in East Sussex.

South East Water (SEW) said on Friday morning that water would be restored to most of the 5,850 affected properties by the end of the day.

The burst pipe was fixed on Thursday afternoon but people on higher land, particularly in Brenchley and Pembury, have yet to see supplies return due to air in the system, said the water company.

SEW apologised again, saying that airlocks in the system had caused problems overnight and that technicians were working "as quickly as they can" to fix the issue.

Two bottled water stations, at Matfield Village Hall and Tesco Superstore in Pembury, were opened on Saturday morning.

Regulator Ofwat opened an investigation into the water firm in January after repeated supply failures to thousands of homes.

In March, SEW chief executive David Hinton told councillors in East Sussex that the widespread supply failures earlier in the year had been the result of freeze-thaw conditions causing burst pipes, followed by Storm Goretti.

Some 30,000 properties had no water at the height of the issues, with many taps dry for multiple days, during which Hinton faced calls to resign.