Hotel forced to use sea water to flush toilets as water outage continues

A hotel has had to resort to using sea water to flush its toilet due to a water outage.

It comes as more than 30,000 people in St Leonards and the Hastings area are without water following a burst water main in Keeper's Wood.

Southern Water said the disruption started on Thursday and is expected to continue into Sunday.

Engineers worked overnight to remove the broken pipe and replace it with a new length of pipework.

An update from the company late this morning said the repair was now complete but restoring supplies "will take time as we have to recharge our network and restart our supply works".

A spokesman said disruption is likely to continue throughout the weekend.

Water bottle stations are open at the Tesco and Asda in St Leonards and in Sea Road, Hastings.

A fourth has also been opened at Hastings Academy.

Some residents have had trouble getting to water stations due to traffic and deliveries to replenish water stations have also experienced delays.

An update from the water company just after 1pm said: “Our response teams have advised that the Hastings Academy and Sea Road bottled water stations are currently serving customers more quickly, while Tesco and Asda are being restocked.”

Schools, a leisure centre and a theatre in the area have been forced to close.

One hotel in Hastings has resorted to flushing toilets with sea water, East Sussex County Councillor Godfrey Daniel has said.

And this weekend is the annual four-day Jack In The Green Festival in Hastings and the May Day Bike Run, both of which see an estimated 40,000 visitors flock to the area, the councillor added.

Councillor Daniel said Southern Water’s reputation “couldn’t be much lower” as he called for the company to deliver water to the streets affected.

“They should put bottles of water outside everybody’s door, we pay enough water rates,” he said.

“The state of our country, where you can’t turn on the tap and expect to see water.

“This weekend is one of the biggest, usually we get 25,000 bikers coming on the same day as the Jack In The Green celebration.

“It’s always the busiest day for the hotels, pubs, the restaurants, this will have a huge impact on them.

“One hotel is using sea water to flush the toilets, bottled water will only go so far in that respect.

“I’ve had people ringing me saying I don’t drive, how do I get to these places (the bottled water stations).

“I’m elderly myself, I couldn’t carry the big bottles.”

Councillor Daniel said he hopes Southern Water “acknowledge it in people’s water bills”.

“The impact on the town will be drastic, a lot of people will lose a lot of money,” he said.

“These businesses are struggling as it is with the cost of living crisis.

“This is a big weekend, they probably make more money over the weekend than in weeks.”

In an update this morning, the water company said: "We are working hard to deliver to more than 6,000 customers on our priority services register, but we know that some customers are still waiting on deliveries. We’re doing everything we can to speed this up and resolve this issue.

"If you are a vulnerable customer, or need access to water for medical reasons, and have not received a water delivery, please call 0330 303 0368."

Southern Water has been approached to comment.