Villagers in Oxfordshire see taps run dry after fault at reservoir

Emergency supplies of water have been delivered to a village where taps have been running dry.

Residents of Northend in Oxfordshire told the BBC tankers and bottles of water arrived on Tuesday night.

Thames Water said it was trying to fix "technical issues" at Stokenchurch reservoir in Buckinghamshire that had caused the problems.

The company, which apologised, said: "We realise how inconvenient this is, especially during such hot weather."

Dr Gina Brown, a radiologist who lives with her elderly parents, said the village's water shortage had proved a "recurrent" problem during hot weather.

She said: "I wasn't expecting when I moved here to be struggling with a basic human resource....having access to fresh water should be a given."

Dr Brown added that although ample amounts of drinking water had arrived, her father was housebound and unable to travel anywhere else for baths or showers.

Other residents complained of the noise from the tanker running all night.

Thames Water confirmed 68 customers had been completely without water for a period of time.

A spokesperson added: "We're using tankers to help boost supplies to customers in Northend to keep up water pressures for these customers so they do not see supply issues as well as delivering water bottles.

"Customers may experience lower than normal pressure during periods of higher demand. These times are typically in the morning and during the early evening.

"We've also identified everyone in the affected area who has pre-registered with us as having special requirements, such as being medically reliant on water, so we can get in touch and make sure we give them the help and support they need."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].