VIDEO: Water restored to 'almost all Sussex customers', says South East Water

Residents across Mid Sussex were left without water this week – calling the situation a ‘crisis’ and ‘disgrace’. Read our story here.

The freezing weather conditions caused a number of pipes to burst – leaving 22,000 people without any water.

Properties in Bolney, Cuckfield, Warninglid, Burgess Hill and Wadhurst were affected.

A Cuckfield father said when he went to buy water, supermarket shelves were empty. Read our story here.

MP Sir Nicholas Soames apologised to residents who were left without water. Read our story here.

Douglas Whitfield, overnight incident manager for South East Water, said: “We’d like to apologise to our customers who have been without water and know this has been a very difficult time.

“Since Saturday we have repaired more than 100 bursts which were caused by the rapid swing in temperature from well below freezing to rapid thaw. On an average day we repair eight to 10 leaks.

“Our 9,000 miles of water mains is a very complex network and it has been a very difficult task to find and fix the leaks and bursts which happened as a result of the extreme weather.

“We are continuing to work around the clock to get everyone back on supply and are putting extra water into the network to refill the storage reservoirs.”

Until the storage reservoirs return to normal levels and while leaks continue to be repaired, customers across the supply area may find they have intermittent supply or low pressure.

Douglas added: “While the picture is improving, we encourage customers to continue using water wisely such as having a shower instead of a bath, only using dishwaters and washing machines on a full load and turning the taps off when brushing their teeth – further tips can be found on our website.”

The most up-to-date information can be found at www.southeastwater.co.uk

For more ways to save water click here.

Updates are available on the South East Water website here.