Plymouth residents were left high and dry as taps ran empty this morning, forcing them to join lengthy queues for bottled water. A burst main has cut off the water supply to hundreds of homes and businesses in the PL6, PL19, and PL20 areas, South West Water (SWW) confirmed on Easter Monday. Those living in the PL7 postcode have also reported issues due to the compromised water main. SWW has established two distribution sites at George Park and Ride, Tavistock Road, and Bere Alston Bowling Club, Bedford Street, Bere Alston, where lorries have delivered pallets of bottled water.

The company stated: "Due to a burst main on our network, some customers in PL6, PL19 and PL20 may be experiencing a loss of supply. Our team have been working through the night to repair the burst and remain on site working to restore supply as quickly as possible.

"We are very sorry for the disruption caused and would like to thank you for your patience. We have set up two water collection points for customers experiencing interruptions to their supplies. Water will be available for collection throughout the day, between 8.30am and 10pm. We will also be delivering bottled water to all customers on our Priority Services Register."

Despite these efforts, SWW has faced criticism as the two designated collection points struggled to cope with the demand from residents, reports Plymouth Live, with a mother-of-three describing pandemonium at the George Park and Ride, with dual entry blockages causing significant delays. She recounted attempting to manually carry water to her vehicle but was instructed to return and endure the extended queue like everyone else.

A local resident expressed frustration, saying: "Lots of homes are affected. There are now huge queues for the George Park and Ride. I'm in the queue now. They were letting people park and collect water by hand, but this has now stopped and it's a drive through only. So tensions are high as now people have to rejoin the queue. I don't know how you collect if you are on foot from the nearby estate."

Criticism also emerged on social media, with Steve Price posting on the company's Facebook page: "That's a large area to be covered by just two distribution points. Come on, pull your fingers out and set up more, or is watching the pennies the greater priority here?".

The utility firm's representative asserted that South West Water (SWW) is working to mend the disruptions, while admitting there is no definitive timeline for service restoration.

Mel Murray-Smith also voiced her exasperation, citing a second water outage within two weeks and sarcastically thanking the company for the advance notice combined with this years substantial price hike. She commented: "Thanks for the heads up on having no water again, that's twice in a fortnight, and for the 50 per cent price increase this year."