Homeowners queue for three hours to get bottled water as 31,000 properties stay ... trends now
Hoards of residents have been forced to wait in three-hour-long queues after 31,000 homes remain without water after a main water pipe burst in East Sussex.
The major disruption, which began on Thursday, has left locals in gridlock traffic for hours as they attempt to get to bottled water stations in St Leonards and other parts of Hastings.
Meanwhile some local businesses, including the White Rock Theatre, have had no option but to shut ahead of the May Bank Holiday - one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Thousands were predicted to descend to the area this weekend for the annual four-day Jack in the Green Festival and the May Day Bike Run, according to the BBC.
Peter Haldane, 43, who works at The Highlands Inn Hotel & Bar, revealed he had spent an arduous three hours queuing to collect 30 bottles of water.
Residents in areas of Hastings have been left queuing for three hours after a burst main pipe has left 31,000 homes without water since Thursday afternoon (pictured: queues in Hastings)
The disruption, which began on Thursday, has left locals in gridlock traffic for hours as they attempt to get to bottled water stations in St Leonards and other parts of Hastings (pictured: water stations in Hastings)
He also estimates the hotel will lose thousands of pounds in profit, after the establishment was left without water.
'We had 10 rooms fully booked and we're expecting that nine will cancel. That's £100 a night,' he told the Telegraph.
'They are well within their rights to cancel. We don't have working toilets or showers.'
Southern Water first reported the issue with the burst pipe, which has impacted residents in St Leonards and other parts of Hastings, on Thursday afternoon.
They opened water bottle stations on Sea Road in Hasting and next to an Asda in St Leonards the following Friday morning.
They also delivered water to 6,000 on its priority services register.
Resident Lesley Arshad, who is disabled, revealed to the Today programme that she was not on the water company's priority list.
She claimed she received a confirmation letter from the company after
