Hundreds of households in the southeast of England have toiled without running water for a fifth day, in an outage that has hit tens of thousands in the run-up to Christmas.
Following the deep blast of Arctic air that blanketed the UK in snow and ice earlier in the month, temperatures shot up by almost 20C in some areas as we entered the final week of Advent – with the rapid thaw wreaking havoc on the water network due to a surge in burst pipes.
