Water outage LIVE: Thousands in Kent and Sussex still without water as MPs call for utility boss to be sacked

A worker hands over bottled water at a water station in East Grinstead - (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

Thousands of people in Kent and Sussex woke up to no water supply once again on Tuesday amid a second major outage in two months.

Customers in Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead, Maidstone, Whitstable, Canterbury and surrounding towns have been left without water, with South East Water blaming Storm Goretti and the cold weather.

It is the second time in two months properties in the area have been without water, with 24,000 people in Tunbridge Wells suffering supply issues in December 2025.

MPs from across the impacted area have called for the Government to remove the company's chief executive, David Hinton, from his post.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said around 5,000 properties in her Faversham and Mid Kent constituency had been impacted.

She said: "That, on its own, is bad enough, but then we have how South East Water responded: failing to deliver water to vulnerable people, sending elderly residents on a two-hour round trip to get bottled water, sometimes only to find that there was none. This is a disgrace.

"It is not for the first time, the chief executive of South East Water has shown us he is not up to the job."

Follow the latest updates below...

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Thank you for joining us

10:07 , Tom Place

That’s the end of our live coverage for today - thank you for following along.

South East statement

09:59 , Tom Place

We have the latest official statement from South East water following the outage.

South East Water’s Incident Manager, Matthew Dean, said: “We’re very sorry to our customers across Kent and Sussex who continue to experience issues with their drinking water supply, including no water, intermittent supply interruptions or low pressure.

“Around 25,000 customers in Kent and Sussex remain affected by no water or intermittent supplies following the recent cold weather and a subsequent breakout of leaks and bursts across Kent and Sussex, which has resulted in our drinking water storage tanks running very low.

“Water supplies to Loose in Maidstone, Blean near Canterbury, Headcorn, West Kingsdown and parts of Tunbridge Wells have been restored.

“Drinking water to the 16,500 properties in East Grinstead will begin to be restored today with full supplies expected to be restored tomorrow afternoon.”

He added: “We are incredibly sorry to all customers and businesses who have been impacted by this and we are doing all we can to restore supplies as soon as possible.”

Burgess Hill update

09:39 , Tom Place

Many in the Burgess Hill area are experiencing low water pressure at the moment, caused by a burst main which South East are trying to fix as quickly as they can.

Water will return to normal as soon as the repairs have been completed.

More images from water stations

09:21 , Tom Place

Water stations across the affected area are now open, and will be until 10pm today.

An aerial view of an emergency water distribution point in East Grinstead. (Getty Images)

A pallet of bottled water is moved at an emergency water distribution point in East Grinstead. (Getty Images)

Coxheath update

09:14 , Tom Place

Pressure issues at the Coxheath site mean South East are unable to pump the water at the same rate as normal.

Customers may still be experiencing no water or low water pressure - as the levels at the reservoir stabilises, some water will return but will be intermittent throughout the day.

MPs call for South East chief's removal

08:50 , Tom Place

Multiple MPs from across the area impacted by the outage have called for the Government to remove South East’s chief executive, David Hinton, from his post.

It is the second time in two months that properties have been without water, with 24,000 people in Tunbridge Wells suffering supply issues in December 2025.

Speaking in the Commons, Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: “How South East Water responded: failing to deliver water to vulnerable people, sending elderly residents on a two-hour round trip to get bottled water, sometimes only to find that there was none. This is a disgrace.

“It is not for the first time the chief executive of South East Water has shown us he is not up to the job. Can I urge the honourable lady to use any power she has to move him on?"

More should see water return soon

08:41 , Tom Place

There have been a number of further updates from South East Water.

Teams have been working throughout the night and reservoir levels are increasing to a point where some customers will start to see their water return in Loose, Blean, Harbledown, Mount Ephraim, and Plaxtol.

However, this will take a considerable amount of time due to the area the network covers, and even once returned it may be intermittent for a while until the reservoir recovers completely.

Water supply returned in many areas

08:31 , Tom Place

In more positive news, there are a number of areas which have now seen their water supply returned.

These include Hollingbourne, Headcorne, Ulcombe, Kingswood and Sutton Valence.

A reminder - if your water looks brown in colour, don't worry as it is not harmful, it means that small particles of iron within the mains are disturbed.

You should however run water from your cold kitchen tap until it is clear.

Tonbridge & Whitstable updates

08:20 , Tom Place

There are still pressure issues at sites in Whitstable and Tonbridge which means water is unable to be pumped.

Many in the area may be experiencing no water or low water pressure - Southeast Water are working to fix the issue as quickly as possible.

East Grinstead update

08:11 , Tom Place

Reservoir levels are increasing to a point where some customers in East Grinstead will start to see their water return.

This will take a considerable amount of time due to the area the network covers, and so some customers may not see their water supplies returned until tomorrow.

Bottle stations will be open from 9am until 10pm, and will remain in place until all customer supplies are returned to normal:

• Kings Centre - Moat Rd, East Grinstead, RH19 3LN
• East Grinstead Sports Club - Saint Hill Rd, East Grinstead, RH19 4JU
• East Court, College Lane, East Grinstead, RH19 3LT

Thousands still without water

08:05 , Tom Place

There are a number of water stations currently in operation across Kent and East Sussex.

People collect bottled water at an emergency water distribution point (Getty Images)

Workers hand over bottled water at a water station in East Grinstead (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

Tree blocking access in Faversham

07:58 , Tom Place

There is a South East Water team working around the clock in Boughton-under-Blean, Faversham, to fix a burst main which is causing the supply issues.

A tree blocking access to the repair site requiring machinery to remove is causing some issues there.

Tunbridge Wells update

07:52 , Tom Place

Water will return to the Tunbridge Wells area this morning after reservoir levels increased overnight.

The bottled water station at St. Marks Recreation Ground, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5LS will be open from 9am until 10pm this evening.

Good news from Bearsted

07:46 , Tom Place

There has been a positive update from the burst water main in Bearsted.

A South East Water team on site have completed the repair, and local residents should now see their taps flowing as normal.

Water may initially appear cloudy, white, or brown - don't worry as it is not harmful.

Users should run their cold kitchen tap until the water is clear.

Good morning

07:36 , Tom Place

Hello everyone - we will be keeping you updated on all the latest information regarding the water outage today.