Rapid temperature change leading to burst water pipes

Homes across the East of England are experiencing a loss of water or low pressure

A rapid change in temperatures have caused a significant number of burst pipes, water companies said.

Affinity Water said 8,000 customers, mostly in Hertfordshire and Essex, have had their supplies interrupted.

Kevin Barton from the company said it was "all down to the weather conditions" over the last few days.

Anglian Water said it was experiencing issues with burst mains and low water pressure across its network.

Bottle water was being given out in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, which Affinity Water said was the worst hit area

Last week, temperatures plummeted to below freezing, but on Saturday they rose by 20C (36F) in some areas.

Mr Barton said this "rapid thaw" caused issues for water companies.

"Those temperature swings cause ground movement and pipes to expand and contract and that led to significantly more bursts on our network," he said.

He said there had been 12 times the normal amount of bursts for this time of year.

The water company said vulnerable customers who were without water would have bottled water delivered to them, and collection points for bottled water would be set up in the worst-affected areas.

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Regan Harris from Anglian Water said the company was "prepared and did plan for this".

She said there were "extra resources" fixing any leaks or burst, but said there were burst pipes in homes which were causing extra problems.

"This is an issue to do with temperature and ground movement and not infrastructure," she added.