Thousands of homes have water supply restored

Thames Water had to drain flood water to access one of the burst pipes

Thousands of homes in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire have had their water supply restored following a burst water main.

Two burst pipes in the Cricklade area left thousands of homes without water on Sunday.

Thames Water said it had isolated the pipe near Cricklade but warned residents in the SN6, SN26, GL7 and GL8 postcodes water pressure was likely to take time to return to normal.

The company apologised for disruption and said engineers were conducting the repairs, which were expected to be completed over the next few days.

On Sunday a drive-through bottle water station was set up in a car park on Oxford Road in Swindon.

Bottled water was also delivered to priority customers, which includes people with a disability or a chronic health condition.

Staff from Thames Water worked overnight to try to resolve the issue

Residents in Cricklade said the water went off at about 14:00 GMT on Saturday and had returned on Sunday, but then was "on and off" for most of Monday.

Natasha Milican-Lee, who has a baby and a six-year-old, said it had been "just a nightmare" trying to keep the baby's bottles clean over the weekend.

She said the water had gone off at least seven times in the three-and-a-half years she had lived in the town, so she now kept big bottles of water in the shed permanently.

"The last burst pipe was less than two weeks ago," Ms Milican-Lee added.

She said having to drive several miles to Swindon to collect bottled water was difficult with two children, one of whom is disabled.

Ms Milican-Lee added: "My bill's going up and up and up and I'm not getting any water.

"There's obviously a problem."

'Dreadful, really dreadful'

Another resident, Mandy Burgess, who has a disabled daughter, said she had asked Thames Water to bring some bottled water to the house on Saturday, but they told her they could not until Sunday.

She said what was eventually brought was not enough for her family of six.

"Dreadful, really dreadful," she said.

"Trying to wash your clothes, wash up, clean, have showers. We can't do it."

She said she had to give her daughter a "strip wash", which was difficult because she did not understand why.

Thames Water explained it had to open water stations in the most convenient places that also complied with health and safety regulations.

A spokesperson said: "We are sorry to those who experienced low water pressure or no water on Sunday following a burst water main near Cricklade.

"Earlier this morning, our teams isolated the burst [pipes], which has restored water supply to those impacted.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and would like our customers to know, we are working to resolve the issue and quickly and safely as possible."