Dozens of families wake up to Christmas Day without water after burst main as firm makes door-to-door deliveries instead

Dozens of ‘let down’ families have woken up to no water on Christmas Day after a burst main left their supply running dry for as long as 24 hours.

The leak has prompted responsible company Southern Water to say it is ‘very sorry’ for ongoing disruption in Strood and Rochester in Kent.

It is disruption that has meant more than 1000 households were initially affected by a localised drought though this number has now fallen to 50 today in Strood after efforts were made to restore access.

Teams have been working ’round the clock’ to repair the leaked main and water collection stations have been set up at Keystone Medical Centre in Gun Lane, Rochester. 

Volunteers from Strood Sports Centre also said they would open their site so people who would like a shower are able to do so.

But residents in the two affected towns are still unhappy.

KentOnline reports that one fuming resident, 50-year-old Zoe Burgess, woke up at 7am on Monday to find she had no running water.

She added it had taken until 9.10am yesterday to deliver bottles to her home and said: ‘They gave me 12 bottles that are two litres each – the equivalent of four flushes.

‘I’ve sat on the toilet absolutely gagging because it’s disgusting. I can’t wash our clothes and I can’t run a bath. I’ve had washing up sitting in the sink since Monday.

‘My neighbour, who has young children, had to walk down to Martin Road and back with a bucket at 11.30pm. Are we in the third world here?’ 

Ms Burgess lives on Cliffe Road with her two older children and partner Peter and the family had to prepare for a Christmas without water.

She added she would need to go to her in-laws house on boxing day to have a shower and she hadn’t had a bath since Sunday night.

‘I’m angry and feel very let down. I’m fortunate enough to have friends that have not been affected and they’ve been bringing water to me,’ she said.

Retired Peter Martin, of Bryant Road, added: ‘The water has been gone since 5pm on Monday, but we didn’t realise until 8pm when the neighbour knocked on the door.

‘We rushed down to the supermarket to grab some bottles.

‘Everyone is still reasonably happy at the moment, there’s been enough water at this stage. We’re just letting the guys get on with it and do their work.’

Southern Water said it has delivered bottled water to customers directly to ‘make certain’ they have enough for Christmas Day.

A spokesman said: ‘We’re very sorry to our customers in Strood for the ongoing disruption.

‘As we go into Christmas Day morning, we have restored supply to all but around 50 properties in the area and we will continue to work around the clock to fix the issue for the remaining properties.

‘Overnight our support teams provided a double delivery of bottled water directly to all households originally impacted, to make certain they had enough for Christmas Day.

‘Although most homes will see their water has returned to normal, some may experience slightly reduced pressure.

‘To further support customers, our bottled water station will be open from 8am today.’

A spokesman for Medway Council, which runs the Strood Sports Centre, said: ‘We will be opening from 9.30am to midday so that residents without water can shower using the sports centre facilities.

‘We would like to say a huge thank you to our staff who will be giving up part of their Christmas Day to open the centre.’