Severn Trent apologises over Shropshire village water shortage

Stephanie Parry said she had been left with no water for 12 hours

A water company has apologised to villagers after they were left with only an intermittent supply in hot weather.

People living in Cockshutt near Ellesmere in Shropshire have been unable to access water on some of the hottest days of the year.

Severn Trent said the problem was down to essential repairs at a local reservoir.

But one customer said its response to her inquiry was "disgusting".

Stephanie Parry, a mum with two children, including a two-week-old baby, said she had been left for 12 hours one day without any water, and had called the company asking for emergency supplies.

"Their reply was quite disgusting actually," she said. "They said that if the engineers were coming to give water to everyone, their job would never be done."

She added the company had eventually provided bottled alternatives.

Farmer David Carr said there had been a pattern to the shortages

Farmer David Carr said there had been a "pattern" to the shortages.

"Severn Trent say the water's back on and then later in the day there's actually nothing," he said.

"We're not too bad [at the farm] as we don't keep many livestock at the moment, but I know a neighbouring pig farm with hundreds and hundreds of pigs that had no water at all on Sunday, and very low pressure, so that could eventually cause fatalities if the animals haven't got anything to drink."

Local Sue Williams said she was "annoyed" by the shortages.

"You pay your bills, don't you? But then you're not getting the end result really."

Sue Williams said she was annoyed by the shortages

Stephanie Cawley, head of water at Severn Trent, said: "We are really sorry to customers in the Cockshutt area who have experienced low pressure or no water supply."

A local reservoir had been taken out of service for essential maintenance, she explained.

"As a result we've struggled to keep up with demand during this hot period."

Engineers were at the site pumping water into the network and working to maintain supplies to customers, she added, saying the problems should be resolved.