Thousands of south London homes report 'dirty yellow tap water'

Thames Water said customers from the areas of SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20, CR0, CR4 had complained about discoloured water

Thousands of homes in south London have been affected by "dirty yellow" tap water.

Engineers are urgently fixing the damaged pipes which are affecting parts of Tooting, Wimbledon, Croydon, Mitcham and Raynes Park, Thames Water said.

Tooting MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan tweeted a photo of a glass of her "dirty water". She said she was in contact with Thames Water.

The discolouring is caused by "iron sediment", the water company said.

A Thames Water spokeswoman apologised for the "inconvenience and worry" caused by the discoloured water which began during maintenance works.

She added: "We have a team of engineers in the SW17 area who have identified the cause of the discoloured water this morning.

"They are currently flushing this water from our pipe system, and we're already seeing the water returning to normal.

"We know it looks unpleasant and wouldn't expect people to drink it until supplies are clear again."

Water is expected to be clear within the next few hours, Thames Water added.