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1h ago

Thousands Still Without Water in Kent and Sussex as Regulators Probe South East Water

MPs intensify calls for chief executive David Hinton to be removed following repeated outages.

The West Sussex town of East Grinstead has been without water for four days and residents are having to queue for bottled water (Photo: Andrew McMillan)
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A worker hands over bottled water at a water station in East Grinstead, after bad weather was blamed for more water outages in Kent and parts of Sussex (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA)
David Hinton, left, has been recalled to parliament over “inconsistencies” in earlier testimony

Overview

  • A major incident remains in place with roughly 25,000 properties still affected on Tuesday after weekend failures that left up to 36,000 without supply.
  • South East Water says supplies have returned to Loose, Blean, Headcorn, West Kingsdown and parts of Tunbridge Wells, with East Grinstead’s 16,500 homes expected to regain full service by Wednesday afternoon.
  • The company cites Storm Goretti, freezing bursts, leaks and a power cut as causes, and reports 26 tankers and round-the-clock repair teams working to stabilise the network.
  • Bottled water stations are operating in East Grinstead, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone, with priority deliveries to vulnerable customers and support for hospitals, care settings and schools.
  • Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate are assessing the outages under active investigations with possible enforcement action, as ministers express concern and MPs question Hinton’s leadership and pay.