Hastings residents use seawater to flush loos on fourth day with dry taps

Residents of Hastings have turned to flushing their lavatories with buckets of seawater as the supply issue that has left their taps dry entered its fourth day.

More than 31,000 households in the East Sussex resort and neighbouring St Leonards-on-Sea and Westfield have been left without running water since Thursday after a 19-inch mains pipe in dense woodland burst.

The pipe was repaired on Saturday but Southern Water said in a statement it would “take some time for the water supply to return”.

Affected residents have had to queue for bottles at water stations at supermarkets outside the towns, but this has left those without access to transport at a disadvantage. There should also be deliveries to the elderly and disabled on a priority list.

Some locals have turned to creative ways around the shortage. Author Paul Burston, who lives in a flat in Hastings, said: “I’ve seen people going down to the sea with buckets to flush their toilet.”

He added: “There’s an elderly man in the flat beneath me. English isn’t his first language and he was very distressed. He was calling his daughter to try and collect him. I get notifications on my phone [from Southern Water] but he originally thought the water was turned off in just his flat.

“I don’t blame Southern Water for the pipe but there wasn’t a back-up.

“Thousands of people have been without water for four days now. I don’t think the back-up was very well organised.”

Describing how the traditional bank holiday weekend crowds have been reduced by the outage, Mr Burston said: “Every year you would wake up and hear the bikers. Usually, the roads are gridlocked but yesterday the roads were empty.”

Southern Water announced on Sunday it would be offering compensation to businesses affected by the disruption over the busy weekend.

Paul Oxborrow, the owner of St Benedict B&B in St Leonards, said he has lost business as a result of the water shortage despite staying open.

He said: “We’ve had people cancel – three or four bookings – but mostly people have come… People want to have showers and flush the toilet. I mean the reason why [people] have cancelled is because they want to have water in their bathrooms.”

Asked whether he would be eligible for the compensation, Mr Oxborrow said: “I gather so. If it’s not too difficult to apply then I will, but I don’t know how.”

Tourism in the area has suffered this weekend as a result of the disruption. The Jack on the Green festival had to cancel its main event on Saturday night after the venue was forced to close and refund ticket holders.

Southern Water has been contacted for comment.