A burst pipe in Dereham left hundreds of homes with little to no running water on Sunday, as torrents of water flooded Girling Road and spread across the street. Anglian Water said some customers in the Norfolk town may have had very low pressure or no water at all, while temperatures were due to peak at 28C in the afternoon.

The outage rippled through a wide area of Dereham, with customers in Highfields, Quebec Road, Sandy Lane, Theatre Street, Becclesgate, Moorgate, Etling View, Northgate, Fox Road and Oak Road reporting problems. People living as far as Swanton Morley also experienced issues, and the Red Lion Pub and the Orion Cinema both closed temporarily while the disruption continued.

Anglian Water said the problem was being caused by one of its pumps that push water around the network. The company said: “We’re really sorry but some customers in Dereham may have either very low water pressure or no water at all.” It added: “This is being caused by a problem with one of our pumps that push water around the network.”

By the time of the report, several areas had already got their water back, but many customers still had not. Anglian Water said: “Based on the latest information available, we’re aiming to have everything back to normal by 9.30pm.” That deadline came after a day in which residents were told the disruption could last for more than eight hours.

For at least one resident, the biggest concern was the basic strain of going without water in hot weather. “We are currently affected by this and have no cold water,” the person said. They added: “I contacted Anglian Water, who advised they will not be supplying bottled water, even though by the time they are anticipating the problem is fixed it will have been off for more than eight hours.”

The resident also said: “This is absolutely unacceptable on the hottest day of the year when guidance is to keep hydrated.” The complaint cut to the heart of the outage: not just the loss of supply, but the timing, with temperatures set to climb to 28C and bottled water not being offered despite the length of the disruption.

The scale of the incident set it apart from a routine local interruption. Water problems were reported across multiple streets, businesses shut their doors, and the issue spread beyond the immediate centre of Dereham. Even as some homes were reconnected, the fact that many still had no water left Anglian Water under pressure to meet its own 9.30pm target.

The question now is whether the company can hit that deadline for every affected street and household after a day that left hundreds without a dependable supply in the middle of a hot Sunday.