People in Glynneath are buying bottled water after brown water pours from taps

Residents in a Welsh town have said discoloured "stained" water has been flowing from their taps for "several weeks", prompting them to used bottled water instead. Ruth Knoyle was filling up her garden swimming pool in Glynneath for her two children following a hot summer's day but returned within hours only to find the distinct colour left by the water - sparking her family to purchase bottled water until the issue is resolved.

Welsh Water confirmed discoloured water has been affecting the Neath, Port Talbot and Maesteg areas and that investigations are ongoing but said it was suspected to be the result of "unprecedented demand of water".

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Ruth, 47, said: "I filled the swimming pool up and went to pick up my two kids from playing sports. When we came back two hours later, the pool was brown. I said to my children, there is no chance of you going in the pool now. I spoke to Welsh Water and they told me it was still safe to drink but it could cause damage to white clothes when in the wash, none of it made any sense."

Ruth returned to her pool to a different colour (Ruth Knoyle)

According to Welsh Water, similar issues are being experienced in Neath, Port Talbot, Maesteg and other parts of Wales. You can view the full areas affected by clicking here. Other Glynneath residents have also posted about the issue on social media.

Areas of Glynneath have been affected (Welsh Water)

The problem is widespread in Wales (Welsh Water)

A notice on the Welsh Water website said: "We believe this is the result of unprecedented demand of water, investigations will continue whilst we respond to calls and continue to flush the network. We are really sorry for the inconvenience this is causing, please be assured that we are working hard to resolve the issues and hope this will improve over the next few days."

It added: "We have teams in the area flushing the network to help clear this." They also advised customers: "Run your cold kitchen tap, this will help to clear the supply. It usually clears fairly quickly after a few minutes of flushing your taps through but it may take around 45 minutes of running the tap before it clears. Avoid washing clothes until the water is clear."

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