Hackney homes without water after burst water main

Residents living in the Frampton Park Estate in Hackney, east London, have told the BBC they have been living without water for almost five days.

Some residents have reported a limited supply, with many saying toilets are unable to be flushed.

Hackney Council said the problem had been caused by a burst water main in the E9 area and that it was talking to Thames Water "to ensure they address these issues as quickly as possible" and "provide the support that the residents affected need in the meantime".

Thames Water said the burst water main had affected water pressure "to a number of blocks", and said teams had been working "around the clock to resolve this complex issue".

Serap Cifci, who lives in the Wellstreet Block on the Frampton Park Estate with her mother, said a pack of six water bottles were left on her doorstep on Saturday evening, before they had experienced any water supply problems.

Other neighbours had received the same pack of water, but said they were not informed as to where this had come from.

Cifci said: "I thought they might be being kind because it was so cold and pipes might freeze, but then I thought probably not, as no-one gives out anything for free."

Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Cifci said she tried to use the toilet and it would not flush. Since then she has had no cold or hot water supply to her property.

Cifci said she then contacted Hackney Council, which told her to contact Thames Water.

Thames Water, Cifci said, "only offered a virtual assistant via WhatsApp".

She said it was unable to explain "much more than: 'We are working to fix the problem'.

"We have no idea how long this is going to go on for," Cifci said.

She described how she had been travelling to her partner's house and local friends' houses for showers, which she said was costing her unnecessary travel expenses.

She described the situation as "a nightmare".

Nearby, Lesley McCutcheon, who lives on Woolridge Way, said she had been without water for nearly six days.

"Along with having no cold water in the bathrooms and no water in the toilet system since New Year's Day, we couldn't get through to the emergency out-of-hours number," she said.

She added: "I suffer from arthritis so trying to lift buckets of water to flush a toilet is impossible. I have to wait for my husband or daughter to return home from work."

McCutcheon said she had epilepsy, which meant she could not carry boiled kettle water to fill up sinks to wash dishes. "I'm not allowed to put myself into danger," she said.

"Stress triggers seizures. Also its been absolutely freezing and there is no water to go through the boiler to put the heating on, which really affects my arthritis."

She said the situation was "stressful" and was made worse "when nobody tells you what is happening".

Local councillor Clare Joseph updated local residents via a community Facebook page and said she had been told by Hackney Council's repairs team that the problem should be fixed by Thames Water by Thursday evening.

She also said: "I have asked for confirmation that Thames will distribute bottled water."

Hackney Council said they were aware of the issues and "appreciate how frustrating this has been for residents".

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We're very sorry to residents of the Frampton Park Estate who have been experiencing water supply issues. We understand how disruptive and distressing this has been, and we apologise for the inconvenience caused."

The company said repair work was expected to finish on Thursday.

The spokesperson added: "Once the repair is complete, we will carry out standard testing to make sure everything is back to normal, before we recharge the water main to bring the area back into service. We're aiming to complete this process as quickly as possible.

"In the meantime, we're prioritising support for customers who need extra support and who are on our Priority Services Register, and bottled water deliveries are being made to those households."

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