The leader of Southampton City Council said she was ‘horrified’ to see vulnerable people being missed out of Southern Water’s bottled water home deliveries.

When 58,000 households were left high and dry for two days last week, Southern Water took bottles to families listed on their Priority Service Register.

But as their list ‘almost tripled within a day,’ many were missed off and did not receive any water.

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Councillor Lorna Fielker said that leaving vulnerable people without water was ‘not an acceptable situation.’

In her full statement to the Echo, the leader of the council said: “I was dismayed by the response of Southern Water to the latest disruption to water supply in the city this week.

“While I understand that sometimes things happen that can affect supply, I was horrified to hear from so many vulnerable people in the city who are on the Priority Service Register but did not receive any water deliveries at all.

“While inconvenient for many, for some the supply of water is critical to their health needs.

“This was not an acceptable situation and while Southern Water have said they have learned lessons from previous supply issues, this clearly has not been the case.

“Our powers in this area are limited, but I will, along with the Leaders of other local councils be lobbying our MPs to address these failings and ensure you are provided the water service that you are entitled to receive.

“Council officers were once again required to step up and fill the gaps left by Southern Water, working all hours to ensure people in the city had access to local supplies of bottled water and our most vulnerable residents were cared for.

“I’d like to thank them for their considerable efforts which I hope helped make a difference for those affected.

“We will be looking to recoup the costs the council, and therefore local taxpayers have incurred this week.”

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Southern Water chief executive Lawrence Gosden said: "Our more vulnerable customers – those on the Priority Services Register – were poorly served, having to wait too long for deliveries to arrive, and in some cases not receiving a delivery at all.

"There’s always a degree of confusion over the PSR during an incident, as we merge our lists with those of councils and the NHS, and people phone in to let us know that they or a relative are vulnerable.

"The list more than tripled inside a day to 20,000 households. However that’s no excuse."