South West Water is working to repair loss of water in Helston and Lizard Peninsula

South West Water is providing bottled water and bowsers for households still without a water supply following this morning's burst main. 

The company said that bottle water was now available for collection from 
Culdrose Community Centre in Hibernia Road, Helston.

There are also bowsers available at 4 Century Close, 2 Seneschall Park, 12 Trenithick Close and 49 Manor Close in Helston. 

People are asked to take a container with them and have been warned to boil any water obtained before drinking it. 

A spokesperson added: "We would like to thank you for your continued patience."

Update 

South West Water has said it has now restored water to the "vast majority" of homes in the Helston and Lizard area following a burst water main earlier today.

The company said engineers had located the burst water main and a team was onsite excavating to carry out a repair to try and restore a full supply to all areas. 

A spokesperson added: "We are pleased to confirm that some customers water supplies have returned and we are continuing to work to restore all supplies as quickly as possible.

"However when supplies return,  some customers may experience discoloured water and we are flushing our mains to clear through the supply."

Information on discoloured water and how it can be used can be found online at southwestwater.co.uk/water-advice-and-services. 

It states that it is unlikely to be harmful to your health as iron and manganese are found in healthy diets, although it is best not to use it for cooking, drinking or washing clothes.

It advises that to clear it, run your cold kitchen tap (or the tap that’s fed directly off the mains pipe) and check it every ten minutes. If you’re on a meter, you can apply for a "run off allowance."

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Thousands of homes are thought to be without water in the Helston and Lizard area this morning after a major water main burst.

Engineers from South West Water are urgently trying to fix the problem and restore supplies to homes stretching from Helston across to Mullion and much of the Lizard Peninsula, down to St Keverne.

A spokesperson for the water company said that a 12 inch main at Wendron Water Treatment Works had burst, affecting supplies in the area.

He said: "The team has located the burst and they're working to carry out repairs on the main."

The spokesman added that it was not clear exactly how many properties had been affected but that the problem centred around Helston "and beyond."

He said updates would be posted online at southwestwater.co.uk/inyourarea and on social media, as well via the press.

"The good thing is they know what it is and no more water is being lost," he added.

In a statement issued this morning, the company said: "South West Water apologises to customers in the Helston and Lizard area who may be experiencing low pressure or disruption to their water supplies.

"This is following a significant burst on the trunk main which we have located. Our team are on site isolating the burst to repair and restore supplies to minimise the impact to customers."

Many people have been complaining about the loss of water on social media, with one person even claiming to have resorted to taking water from the toilet cistern to make a cup of tea; it is not clear if this was a joke.

Some residents of Helston have warned that they started the day with water but had since been cut off also.

Wendron supplies nine per cent of the population of Cornwall including Helston and the Lizard. It produces around 12 megalitres (100,000 million litres) of water a day.