Water all-clear as supplies return

Thousands of home were affected at one stage

Water supplies have been restored to all customers affected by burst pipes in recent days, West of Scotland Water has announced.

The authority said it had managed to reconnect supplies to the last customers affected by the sudden thaw, which had hit thousands of people in west and south west Scotland.

However, the authority said it would continue to monitor supplies in Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway as high demand continued and "the situation is far from being totally resolved".

The situation is still being monitored

It also praised customers who had responded to its plea to report any burst pipes.

A spokesman for West of Scotland Water said: "We are pleased that supplies to customers have returned to normal after what has been a very difficult period for the authority caused by the exceptional weather.

"We would also like to thank customers for the part they have played in reporting burst pipes and reducing consumption.

"This allowed the authority to put in place a series of measures to ensure a normal supply situation was returned more quickly than would have otherwise been possible.

"However, the overall situation will continue to be monitored closely over the next several days."

The authority urged customers in Ayrshire, Argyll and Dumfries and Galloway to continue to use water sparingly and to carry out further checks for leaks.

Critical situation

The shortages were caused as demand increased because of pipes bursting in the sudden thaw.

At one stage the water situation in Ayrshire was described as critical and chief executive Ernie Chambers said that 100,000 properties could have lost their mains supply.

The authority estimated that as many as 6,000 people were affected at the peak of the supply problems on Tuesday but on Wednesday this was reduced to a "small number" mostly in Kirkconnell.

However, it is feared that the problem could return as some businesses do not return to work until Monday.