Burst main: water firm is flooded with calls

The fracture was thought to have been caused by freezing temperatures and South East Water received almost 300 calls from householders and others as their taps ran dry shortly after 8.30am.

A spokeswoman for the water company said: “We immediately mobilised crews to locate and repair the burst. Unfortunately it led to a number of our customers being without water until supplies were fully restored at approximately 3pm.”

She added: “ South East Water apologises for the inconvenience this has caused and would like to thank our customers for their patience.”

Homes in parts of Little Common, Sidley and Pebsham were hit by the supply failure, including Camber Close and Haslam Crescent, and pupils at several local schools had to be sent home because there was no water for lavatories, washing or cooking.

Linda Appleby, headteacher at Little Common Primary School, said: “I understand Bexhill College, Chantry and St Mary Magdalen schools were among others affected.

“For us, it couldn’t have come at a worse time because it was our day for Christmas lunch. We had some supplies of water, which meant we were able to go ahead with the meal, but then all 650 of our pupils had to go home early.”

Mrs Appleby added: “I have to say the staff and children were fabulous, taking it in their stride, keeping calm and being flexible. The parents were brilliant, too, showing great understanding and tolerance of the situation we found ourselves in.

“One parent even came in with bottled water and drinks for the staff. We used a variety of ways to let parents know what was happening - texts, e-mails, web alerts and telephone calls - and the first had responded within two minutes.

“At least it gave us a chance to test our contingency plans in case of emergency, and I’m delighted to say that thanks to excellent co-operation all round they worked.”

South East Water has 2.1 million customers across the region and supplies 565 million litres of drinking water every day via 14,000 kilometres of mains piping.