About 8,000 properties lose water supply

About 8,000 properties in Polegate have been hit by a water outage due to a burst pipe

About 8,000 properties in East Sussex have lost their water supply due to a burst pipe.

Some schools and businesses were forced to close on Wednesday after a water main burst in Lancing Way in Polegate, causing supply issues or low pressure.

Councillor Nathan Dunbar, of Polegate Town Council, said the disruption was "disappointing" and urged South East Water to "act fast".

The firm has apologised to customers and thanked them for their patience as it worked to fix the problem.

South East Water said fixing the outage was a "complex" task to complete

On Wednesday evening, South East Water said around 2,000 properties remained without water in the Pevensey Bay area, but added customers on higher ground may also be experiencing low pressure or no water.

It said repair teams were making "good progress" and would work throughout the night.

Ian Weston, who lives in Polegate, told BBC Radio Sussex it was the worst burst water main he had ever seen, with water coming up like a "big fountain".

He said everyone in the area was "stressed out" by the outage.

Willingdon Community School said it had "no option" but to close on Wednesday as there was no water at the site.

St Catherine's College and Polegate Primary School were also shut.

South East Water said Lancing Way was to remain closed while repairs were carried out and a bottled water station for affected customers had been set up at Eastbourne Angling Club.

'Complicated' burst

Incident manager Matthew Dean said he was unable to give a time of when the issue would be resolved due to the "complicated nature of the burst".

"We're also redirecting water around our vast network of underground pipes to restore water supplies to as many properties as possible," he said.

Bottle water is to also be delivered to the most vulnerable customers, the firm added.

Parts of Polegate and Eastbourne experienced similar issues after two pipes burst in September last year, which affected about 1,500 properties and forced Drusillas Park to close.