Nearly 800 properties in three Kent villages were left with water supply problems after outages first hit Charing, Challock and Molash on Saturday evening and then returned on Sunday morning. South East Water said the issue was resolved overnight, but disruptions resumed at about 09:25 BST, leaving about 790 properties affected again.

The company said an incident team was in place and a bottle station was open at Challock Village Hall on Blind Lane, Challock, Ashford, as crews worked to get supply back to customers in the area. The timing added to frustration for residents after the UK recorded its hottest day of the year so far on Saturday, when Frittenden in Kent reached 30.5C.

Steve Benton said the interruption was due to a technical failure at the pumping station near Charing, and that the company had struggled to push water to properties on higher ground. He said South East Water was sorry and was working to restore supply safely and quickly. Benton also said water supply issues during hot weather were deeply frustrating and incredibly inconvenient.

For Robert Frampton-Fell, the stop-start nature of the outage was the hardest part. He said water returned at about 22:00 on Saturday night after disruptions earlier in the day, but the problem came back hours later. He said the household had experienced similar problems a few times before over the last few years, while Janet Frampton-Fell said it was particularly concerning and dangerous not to have water supply, especially on such a warm day.

The episode underlines how fragile supply can be when demand rises and pressure drops at the same time. South East Water has said the fault sits at its pumping station near Charing, and until that system is fully stable, families in these villages are likely to keep living with the risk that the taps go dry again just when they need them most.