UPDATE: Thousands remain without water this morning

The work meant switching off water supply from 11am on Thursday (October 19).

The burst was discovered near Brede in the early hours of Thursday morning and work was started to locate the burst and to prepare for excavation work.

A Southern Water spokesman said: “Unfortunately, in order to safely carry out the repair as quickly as possible, we’ll need to interrupt water supplies to around 2,500 residents in the TN31 to TN36 postcode areas.

“We regret that supplies to households in the Rye area affected by the burst water main are unlikely to be restored until late this evening.

“Our teams have uncovered a three metre long break in a 14 1/2 inch water main are currently making repairs.

“Following the repair, a storage reservoir at Udimore will need to refill before supplies can be completely restored.

“Teams are taking bottled water directly to vulnerable customers and bottled water will be available to other affected residents shortly.

“We apologise for any inconvenience and thank everyone affected for their understanding and patience whilst we carry out these emergency repairs.”