'Send in the army' to help with water chaos - Davey

A water company has come under fire for breaking promises as thousands of households in Kent and East Sussex prepare for a fifth day with no supplies.

Up to 24,000 South East Water (SEW) customers in Tunbridge Wells, Pembury, Frant and Eridge were hit by supply issues on Saturday due to a problem at a treatment works.

The company said earlier that water would be restored to the remaining 14,000 affected households by 18:00 GMT, but later said this would not happen until Wednesday - the latest in a series of delays.

It blamed the reappearance of the "water quality issue" that caused the initial shutdown.

In an update at 21:25, the company said supplies had been restored to 12,000 properties.

"Some of those customers who have had their tap water restored may currently be experiencing intermittent supplies once more," a SEW spokesperson said.

"However, please be assured that this water is totally safe to drink and undergoes strict quality control before being released into the network."

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged the government to deploy "national resources", including the Army, to help on the ground.

"GPs have had to shut, vulnerable people, including in care homes, are unable to get access to any water," he said.

"The government must urgently step in to stop this situation from becoming a public health crisis."

• Follow the BBC's live coverage of day four of water supply interruption here

The prime minister's official spokesman said they hoped "the private company is straining every sinew to restore provision to households as quickly as possible."

"We have, as we've set out previously, taken a range of measures to hold water companies better to account for the service that they provide," they added.

Lewis Froud, from Tunbridge Wells, said: "The frustrating thing is the deadlines for water returning keep getting pushed back.

"If we had something concrete we could plan better."

Schools have been closed for a second consecutive day, with residents forced to depend on neighbours to bring them supplies.

A number of businesses, including cafes, restaurants and banks, have also been unable to open for several days.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said the water supply problem had affected dialysis services at its Tunbridge Wells kidney treatment centre.

Patients have been offered alternative arrangements, it added.

Tunbridge Wells resident Daphne Pilcher told BBC Radio Kent: "It's grim because I have arthritis and I can't carry water bottles in my hands.

"I've lived in this house for 79 years and I've not known anything like it.

"I have been very much relying neighbours to bring me water as I can't get it myself," added the 85-year-old.

Julian Leefe-Griffiths, who runs The Tunbridge Wells Hotel, described the situation as "shockingly difficult".

"We have lost thousands of pounds through people checking out and others not checking in.

"I'm disgusted. It has been a litany of mistakes."

Deborah Grant from Frant, East Sussex, added there had been "no communication" from SEW.

"It has been enormously inconvenient, at best."

The Drinking Water Inspectorate said it was investigating the disruption to understand the cause and ensure the company puts measures in place to protect consumers and prevent recurrence.

"The inspectorate has powers to bring forward enforcement action or legal proceedings should there be sufficient evidence," it added.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service told the BBC it was continuing to respond to emergencies in the affected areas.

"Our planning and resilience arrangements mean all response capabilities remain available," a spokesperson said.

SEW said on Tuesday morning 10,000 customers had seen water restored.

Marc Sims, incident manager at the water company, apologised all customers who were yet to see water return.

"We are continuing to deliver bottled water to more than 2,000 of our most vulnerable customers."

Households lost supply on Saturday night after Pembury Water Treatment Works stopped working "due to a bad chemical batch", according to SEW.

Tunbridge Wells MP, Mike Martin, called for the resignation of the SEW boss David Hinton, labelling the situation "a total failure of leadership".

"It has been challenging," he said. "Every time they seem to get it wrong."

In response, Matthew Dean, from SEW, said: "Our focus is entirely on returning supplies to our customers as soon as possible.

"Once we have returned supplies to all customers, a thorough investigation will take place into what happened."

Bottled water stations in Tunbridge Wells have reopened at three locations - Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, Odeon Cinema on Knights Way and RCP Parking.

The company also said it had tankered more than six million litres of water and handed out 400,000 litres of bottled water to keep supplies running.

Tunbridge Wells was previously without water over the Christmas of 2022.

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