Herefordshire residents fourth day without water

Lisa Aubrey, who runs the Pandy Inn in Dorstone, says she has had to cancel bookings

Homes and businesses across Herefordshire are experiencing a fourth day without water after freezing weather caused pipes to burst.

Welsh Water said teams were working hard to fix issues and distributing bottled water to those in need.

But residents told the BBC they had not received anything, and had no idea when supplies would be restored.

Herefordshire MP Jesse Norman has called for an inquiry into the water company's response.

It is not known how many households in Herefordshire are affected by the outages, which have also hit thousands of properties across Wales.

But residents in villages including Dorstone, Garway and Broad Oak said they had been without water since the weekend.

Lisa Aubrey, vice-chair of Dorstone Parish Council, who also runs the Pandy Inn in the village, said her supply went off on Sunday morning.

"We've had to cancel this evening and we're looking at having to cancel tomorrow if it doesn't come on, because of course we'll be in violation of our health and safety certificates to actually open the pub with no running water," she said.

The councillor, who said she had not received any bottled supplies from Welsh Water, added villagers had been travelling to Hereford and Abergavenny to buy drinking water because local shops had run out.

Simon Gibbs in Broad Oak has been relying on rainwater to flush toilets

Simon Gibbs from Broad Oak said he had been collecting rainwater to flush toilets but water butts were running low.

"We're getting really quite concerned especially in the lead up to Christmas," he said, adding the water company told him it did not have stocks of bottled water "or the resource to provide it".

MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire Jesse Norman said he had been pushing Welsh Water and the council since Tuesday afternoon to "get a grip of the situation".

"They don't seem to have an accurate picture of exactly who's been affected," he said.

"The level of water supplies that they're bringing in from outside is inadequate. They aren't making enough progress on fixing the mains supply, as far as I can make out. Also the communications have been terrible."

The MP said he wanted an inquiry into Welsh Water's response: "If it looks like Welsh Water have been favouring the situation in Wales over and above their customers and my constituents in the Golden Valley and other parts of Herefordshire then I think that's a very serious public matter which will require proper investigation."

Welsh Water has apologised to customers experiencing low water pressure, or no water, and thanked them for their patience while the issue was resolved.

"We have been texting customers with updates and also updating our website and telephone message with the latest updates," a spokesperson added.

"Customers can also help by checking any taps not being used are turned off and if they do have a water supply then only using the water they need."