A water company has been slammed after a series of leaks over recent months repeatedly left homes without water.

Friday morning saw the most recent leak which meant taps in the Denton and South Heighton area of Newhaven stopped running.

Councillors say it is the fifth time a leak has affected water supplies in the area since last December, and say the rate at which the leaks continue to happen is "unacceptable".

They plan to meet with South East Water, the company responsible for supplies in the affected area, to discuss the issue.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Julie Carr, who sits in the Newhaven North ward, said: "The number of recurring South East Water leaks we are experiencing in Newhaven is totally unacceptable, there have been three incidents in the last week alone, on March 13, 17 and 19.

"I and a fellow councillors will be meeting with South East Water to demand a more reliable service for the residents of Newhaven."

The most recent issue with the area's water supplies came yesterday, when a leak meant the taps in several homes stopped working at about 8am.

Workers from South East Water carried out repair works and were able to re-establish water supplies by 9.30am.

But Liberal Democrat Councillor Sean Macleod, who represents the Ouse Valley and Ringmer ward, said the fact that this issue had happened several times in recent months was "unacceptable".

Councillor Sean Macleod

Councillor Sean Macleod

He said: "This is the fifth leak since December that has affected residents in South Heighton and Denton.

"We had similar issues in Ringmer last year. South East Water said the system was too old and needs a major upgrade, and it feels like we need the same here.

"I would like an urgent meeting with South East Water as would Cllr Julie Carr, district councillor for Denton and Newhaven North, and Cllr James MacCleary, the leader of Lewes District Council, to discuss the water situation in South Heighton and Denton as well as the surrounding area.

"It is not acceptable that residents keep losing access to water. South East Water post multi-million pound profits every year and residents are getting fed up with continued issues.

(In its 2019-2020 group annual report, South East Water reported a revenue of £243.5million, with an operating profit of £81.3million).

"At the same time, bills continue to increase and we are threatened every summer with how we have to watch what we use.

"If we had a network fit for purpose I think many issues around water shortages would be far more easily managed by the company."

Matthew Dean, head of operations at South East Water, apologised to the residents affected by recent leaks and pledged to meet with councillors to address the recurring problem.

He said: “I am very sorry to those in Newhaven who had no water or low pressuring this morning following a problem at a booster station which pumps water to taps in the area.

Councillors have slammed repeated disruption to water supplies in Newhaven

Councillors have slammed repeated disruption to water supplies in Newhaven

“The issue occurred at 8am on Friday, March 19, and the pumps were back up and running again at 9.30am, however it will have taken a little time to refill the network and get everyone’s taps running again.”

Yesterday, work to repair a burst pipe in Mount Road affected supplies to approximately 10 properties in the town. It is expected that pipe will be fixed later today.

Mathew continued: “We are aware the area has suffered a number of failures over the past few months and continually monitor where and when these occur to inform where future investment needs to be undertaken.

“We are happy to meet with local councillors to discuss the issues in the area further and will be in touch.”