HOUSEHOLDS left without water for more than 20 hours have today seen their supplies restored.

Residents in the Bitterne area of Southampton began to report a loss of water from 2pm yesterday and some had to wait until late last night for supplies to be fully restored. Homes in Netley Abbey, Peartree and Woolston were also affected.

But a Southern Water spokesman has this afternoon confirmed that repairs had taken place and no more cases have been reported.

Southern Water said a two-metre long section of an 18in water main in Midanbury Lane split on Friday. Part of the road today remains closed while attempts continue to repair the problem. It is thought there was an air lock in the pipe, stopping supplies from reaching residents.

Engineers were dispatched to fix the leak and re-route supplies but a spokesman said it took longer than normal to restore pressure to the network due the size of the pipe.

He said 130 homes had called to report a loss of water and apologised for the disruption caused.

Many residents complained the company had failed to give out accurate information on how long it would take to restore water.

Southern Water issued an apology on its website and said it had “recharged the main” for water to be restored to affected homes within 30 minutes.

The message was not updated for several hours before the time estimate was removed.

But the company this afternoon thanked customers for their patience and said that engineers had been visiting affected homes throughout the day.