Residents in Fareham left with 'stinking' flats after running water stops

RESIDENTS in two blocks of flats have been left without running water for more than 32 hours - with bottled water being delivered for washing and drinking.

Residents in Randal View and Lion Place on Bishopsfield Road, Fareham, first noticed the water problem at 8.30am on Sunday.

The fault was corrected at 5pm on Monday - by which point Randal View had begun to 'stink,' according to one resident.

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Natasha Hurst, 34, who lives in the block with her partner and two children, said: 'Where people were not able to flush the toilets, the flats had begun to stink.

'It had become noticeable.

'People were not coping well - there are people in the block with young children.'

Randal View and Lion View have 42 and 32 flats respectively.

She said that at no point were residents given an indication as to when the problem would be fixed.

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A representative from Vivid Homes, the housing association which owns and manages the two blocks, arrived on Sunday evening with two litres of water per person - 10 hours after running water cut out.

They returned at 10.30am Monday to distribute a further five litres of water per person.

Natasha said it was left to a resident to open the community centre to access more water.

She said: 'This has never happened before. We just wanted an update.

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Vivid chief operating officer Jonathan Cowie said: 'Engineers have been working on site since Sunday and services have now been restored.

'To ensure the well being of all residents we made sure everyone impacted was supplied with drinking water and water for non-drinking use.

'We realise this was a difficult situation and I would like to thank all residents for their patience while repairs were carried out.'

There has been no announcement on whether the disruption will lead to a concession on the resident's flat-rate water bill, with Natasha and other residents wondering if they will pay for a lack of service.

'Why would we want to pay for two days that we have not had water?' she said.

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