South East Water apologises after customers lose water

A power cut left 140 homes in parts of East Sussex without water for over 24 hours.

People living in Battle, Playden and Peasmarsh lost water on Sunday night, with supplies only restored on Tuesday morning.

South East Water said it could not deliver bottled water because of the cold weather affecting roads.

Power has returned, the company said, but airlocks in the system mean it will take time to fully restore supplies.

Peter Dass and his wife, who are in their 70s, lost their water at about 21:00 GMT on Sunday.

"We ended up having to melt snow to make water to put into the cistern so we would be able to flush the toilets," he said.

"It's been very, very difficult, all the water has sold out in all the shops in Battle.

"About four o'clock on Monday I was able to phone up one of the companies in Catsfield who still had water flowing and we were able to take some bottles down and fill them up."

A statement from South East Water said: "We're really sorry to those of you experiencing low pressure or no water.

"Our technicians are working as quickly as they can to remove the air and restore your supplies. Please rest assured we're doing everything we can to get you back up and running as soon as possible."

The company said it would be writing to customers to apologise and provide details of any compensation due.

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