Bexhill homes left without water following main burst

South East Water said it first received a report of a leak at around 5am.

Engineers were then sent to the scene to repair the fault, the water company added.

Scores of residents had their water supply cut off as teams dealt with the incident, with South East Water adding that more than 40 properties were affected.

Jay Carroll, of Carrolls Greengrocers, in Ninfield Road, said there was a ‘river of water’ running down the street when he arrived for work on Saturday.

He said: “The road was shut from Buxton Drive up to Sidley Street. In 33 years trading in Sidley I don’t remember anything like this happening before.

“As retailers we need the road open as soon as possible. The impact is massive, as people when they know of the problems with road works and getting through Sidley, they stop coming that way. After this is back to normal it will take a lot time for trade to filter back.

“We have wonderful loyal customers but people don’t have time for this as a retail experience when they have many other options at their disposal. The last lot of road closures in Sidley only weeks ago had a massive negative impact on local small business.”

As of this afternoon (Monday, August 7), several streets in the area are reporting water leaks, namely Ashby Close, Turkey Road, Elva Way, Ninfield Road, Sidley Green and St James Avenue.

Cllr Sam Coleman, Rother councillor for Sidley, said: “Thank you to the crews who acted promptly to return water supply to nearby businesses and residents, now we need the road re-opened as soon as possible so that businesses do not lose any more trade. Our high street has been hard to access for some time now owing to other roadworks and so this issue has just added to that.

“Questions should be raised also with South East Water as to what went wrong with the pipe infrastructure to cause this incident. During the time where water supply was lost, I had residents contact me unable to sterilise their baby’s milk, flush their toilet and other issues. We need water infrastructure that is reliable.”

A spokesperson for South East Water said: “We first received a report of the leak at 5am on August 5, with the first no water call at 8.15am the same day. Our technician and gang arrived at site at 9am and began excavating the main. The repair was completed and main fully charged at 4.16pm the same day.

“Water was returned to the wider area at approximately 12.30pm while the gang completed the repair.”

The spokesperson said all affected properties were due to have their water supply fully restored by 4.30pm.

“We are very sorry to our customers and businesses affected by the leak. We know how frustrating leaks can be and thank those who report them to us,” the spokesperson added.