Water supply problems continue for east Kent homes

Thousands of homes in east Kent still have problems with their water supply.

South East Water has apologised, blaming the heatwave for the supply problems which began on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning it said about 4,000 customers in Whitstable, Seasalter and the surrounding area were still suffering from "intermittent supply".

Incident manager Nick Bell said the bottled water station at Sainsbury's in Reeves Way, Chestfield, would reopen from 08:30 BST "for customers who may still need to collect bottled water due to issues with their mains supply".

Bottled water will also be delivered to vulnerable customers who are registered on the company's website.

Mr Bell said: "We're continuing to use tankers to inject water into our network to support the Whitstable area and help get drinking water back to customers' taps as soon as possible.

"Once again, we're sorry for the inconvenience to customers and we'll continue to work hard to restore supplies as soon as we can."

Alex in Whitstable told BBC Radio Kent that her father-in-law, who has dementia and has had several strokes, had been cut off.

She said she called South East Water to register him as a vulnerable customer.

"What they told me was 'we'd rather put the resources towards fixing the problem, so we don't deliver if you can collect for him'."

She said she was able to arrange collection on Wednesday but said "if my husband and I had been out of the area, that would have been a real logistical headache".

"My concern now is are we going to keep him stocked up with bottled water for the rest of the summer just in case," she added.

South East Water customer services director Tanya Sephton said: "When signing up to our Priority Services Register, we make customers aware that bottled water stations will be opened locally if there is a supply interruption.

"Customers are asked to confirm if they would be able to collect from one of our stations or if they would require a delivery at home due to their circumstances or needs.

"These details are added to the customer's account to ensure we can support those most vulnerable who are unable to collect bottled water.

"We do recognise that preferences may change, and as such, we regularly contact customers to do a re-validation and update their needs and change their delivery preference, if required.

"In addition, we understand customers who have chosen to collect may not be able to at certain times. We welcome contact from these customers and we will look to support such requests reactively, as required."

Geraldine Kent arrived to collect supplies from the bottled water station on Thursday morning.

"We noticed low pressure, so I was running around finding kettles and saucepans, and it was getting lower and lower.

"We're back on now, but I've got some just in case."

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