No water as demand soars

Thousands of people in Northamptonshire are without water because demand has proved too much to cope with.

Scorching summer temperatures prompting gardeners to turn on the sprinklers has sent demand for water soaring.

The surge is leaving an underground storage tank at Thorpe Mandeville in South Northamptonshire struggling to cope.

Anglian Water said 3,500 customers were affected a few miles west of the M1 between Northampton and Milton Keynes.

Andrew McIntosh, from Anglian Water, said the shortage was not because they had run out of water.

Sprinklers to blame

He said sprinklers were the culprits. They use the same amount of water in an hour as a family of four in a day.

"The difficulty we have found over this last hot spell is we can't get water into the pipes fast enough before it is being sucked out.

"I'm afraid the culprit is the sprinkler. There is plenty of water for us all to go home and have a shower, cook, whatever else we need to use water for in a normal way.

"The hot spell has put demand up by 50%."

Some have no water at all, others have low pressure.

Around 15 villages have been affected.

Anglian Water spokeswoman Becky Dowty said water tankers were being sent out to villages to provide a temporary supply.