Gunnislake: Residents say cuts to water supply is health issue

Residents in Cornwall who had been without water for more than 36 hours said the shortage was a "health issue".

More than 6,000 homes in the Gunnislake area have been affected, with some still waiting for supplies to return.

"Nobody is taking it seriously", said Iris Crawford from Albastan.

South West Water said it had been working through the night to restore supplies to customers in Gunnislake and Calstock, and would continue to help the "small number" still waiting.

The company said a "small number" of residents were without water or experiencing low pressure and it would continue to investigate and monitor the situation.

South West Water have been handing out bottled water to affected customers, but residents in Albaston said the company should be doing more.

"Nobody is taking it seriously - this is a health issue", said Ms Crawford who has been without water for almost 48 hours.

"We still have a Covid problem - people do need to wash their hands and people do need to wash up."

Local residents said the community had come together to help each other out during the shortage.

Water supplies returned to Gunnislake residents on Saturday afternoon, but many homes are expected to be without water until Sunday.

The Cornwall Councillor for Gunnislake and Calstock, Dorothy Kirk, said the whole community had been "without the most basic thing of life - water".

South West Water said it was working on Saturday to lay a new water main to make the system more resilient and it would be continuing through the night.

A spokesperson for the firm said: "We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding whilst we work to restore the remaining supplies as quickly as possible."

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