Video: residents collect bottled water in East Grinstead after pipes burst across West Sussex

South East Water announced at 9.30am on Twitter: “We’re very sorry to customers without water this morning. Due to the snow and ice thawing rapidly, we have seen an increase in the number of burst water mains. Our teams are working to get water supplies restored.”

South East Water’s interactive map shows that customers in West Hoathly, Sharpthorne, Selsfield, Crawley, Hartfield and Black Hill, Crowborough are without water. Many leaks have also been reported in Hurstpierpoint, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, Wivesfield Green, Chailey, Newick, Ditchling, Hailsham, Seaford, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings.

West Sussex County Council also announced the issue on Twitter, saying: “We are aware that people in West Sussex continue to be without water today. Follow @sewateruk for updates on their work to restore water supply.”

South East Water said they have now opened a bottled water station at The Gearon Pavilion in Saint Hill Road, East Grinstead.

South East Water CEO David Hinton said: “We are very sorry to our customers who are without water but we are doing everything we can in this incredibly fast moving and challenging situation. This has resulted in many of our drinking water storage tanks, which hold treated water before it is pumped to customers’ taps, going empty or very low. Although we planned for this, we cannot predict when and where pipes will burst and are reacting as quickly as possible.

“Our teams are working flat out to find, fix and repair the leaks on our pipes but we’re asking customers to help too by checking their homes, businesses, empty properties, outside taps and troughs in any fields for leaks and get them repaired as soon as possible. Leaks within properties can cause extensive damage, which can be costly to repair.

“To help us further we would ask our customers who do have water to only use water for the essentials, take shorter showers, do not leave taps running unnecessarily and only run washing machines and dishwashers when you have a full load. If possible, avoid using appliances at the peak times of 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm.”