'Appalling communication - it has been an absolute disaster'

Lesley Bingham-Brazier has been using the shower at a gym

Thousands of homes in Kent and East Sussex are expected to remain without water for a fourth day due to an issue at a treatment works.

South East Water (SEW) has apologised to up to 24,000 customers in Tunbridge Wells, Frant and Eridge who have experienced a loss of water or low pressure since Saturday.

Local residents described the situation as "difficult" to the BBC, with people not being able to flush toilets and having to find other arrangements to shower.

Some schools across the area have said they were not opening on Monday.

Tunbridge Wells resident Haike Tzianetas has had to take the day off work on Monday as a special needs teacher as her child's school is closed.

She told BBC Radio Kent: "I queued for 45 minutes to get bottled water on Sunday to find they'd run out."

Lesley Bingham-Brazier, from Pembury, has been using the gym at Knights Park for showering after being left without water.

She said: "It's like we are living in a developing country with the lack of water but we are paying so much for it."

Teresa Barrett, from the Black Horse pub in Tunbridge Wells said it had been "difficult".

She said: "I would like some guidance on how we can claim compensation."

Lee in Tunbridge Wells said: "I've been without water since 14:00 on Saturday and cannot flush my toilet.

"I'm disabled and stressing out about the situation."

Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said he was also without water and had spoken to the chief executive of SEW: "South East Water has been utterly useless and their communication has been appalling.

"It has been an absolute disaster."

SEW previously said the situation would be resolved by 14:00 GMT on Monday, but this has since been pushed back to 08:00 on Tuesday.

"Customers are beginning to see supplies gradually return, however we do not expect the majority of customers to have their drinking water fully restored until tomorrow morning," it said in an update on Monday.

The water company added it was taking a "measured approach" to restoring supplies to ensure there were "no further issues".

It warned that tap water could be discoloured or cloudy when it came back, though added this was harmless.

SEW said it reopened three bottled water stations in Tunbridge Wells until supplies are restored.

These are at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, Odeon Cinema Knights Way and RCP Parking.

Thousands of people have been without water since Saturday

About 24,000 customers were affected by the water outage on Saturday, with 1,150 properties in the Pembury area getting supplies back on Sunday.

The company said 500 homes had water restored since 05:00 on Monday.

Matthew Dean, head of operations control at SEW, said Pembury Water Treatment Works had stopped working "due to a bad chemical batch".

A new batch of the chemical was received on Sunday, he added.

SEW said it had delivered bottled water to more than 4,000 of its most vulnerable customers.

A SEW spokesperson added: "When the water supply returns, you may experience discolouration.

"If your water looks brown in colour, please don't worry as it is not harmful."