Angry residents have hit out at a water provider at the heart of issues in Kent.

People say they are fearful for their families, while South East Water has been 'review bombed' by furious residents who have been left without reliable running water – some for as long as six days.

Challock resident Eve Kryger said she was worried for the welfare of her her two-year-old.

"I feel very let down. We all have the rising cost of living and they'll still expect us to pay their bills," she said.

"We've got a two-year-old at home and not being able to bath her is not good enough.

"I've done no washing for five days. What am I meant to put my child in? Dirty clothes to go to nursery? It's not good enough."

The mother added that on the hottest day of the year, she flushed her toilet just once.

"I've got a toddler who's potty training and she's expected to sit on a toilet full of pee and poo – it's just not good enough. It's beyond a joke.

"I know people live in awful situations but we live in a country where we should have access to running water all the time.

"We understand that water leaks happen and the water has to be turned off for repairs but how long is it going to go on for?"

Challock Primary has been closed all week amid the water issues but opened for just three hours this morning for the Year 6 leavers assembly.

Jonathon Parker has children at the school and said it got "very difficult" earlier this week, with a lack of information.

"We couldn't have showers or flush the loos – it's just very difficult to manage it day to day," he said.

"Nobody knows why Challock hasn't got water. South East Water say it's because of a water shortage but surely it can't be a water shortage just for one village."

The village's only shop, the Barn Shop, has also suffered during the low water supply and has lost thousands of pounds worth of plants.

Owner of the shop, Paul Barkaway said that he rushed to the store at 11pm last night to make use of the water which had been turned back on, to water the plants.

"One of the customer's texted me and said the water was coming back on but only for four hours so I legged it up here," he said.

"We've had to chuck so many away and the ones that are left are losing their quality.

"We've lost a lot of plants and we don't want to lose anymore."

While Challock – and surrounding villages Charing and Molash – have been without reliable supplies for six days, many other areas of the county are also enduring dry spells.

A number of residents have taken to the internet to express their anger at the shortages, 'review bombing' the company on Trustpilot.

The tactic sees disgruntled customers post a number of one-star reviews, lowering the firm's overall rating.

One Ashford village resident named only as 'Angeline' described the situation as "absolutely unbelievable" in a review left yesterday, after bottled water supplies ran out in Challock.

"No water for five days and still no answers of when this will be sorted – just lies after lies, and now there is no supply of bottled water!

"How can this be left to get to this situation at the hottest time of the year?"

Residents in the area have been told that while taps now appear to be running again, there are concerns that they could run dry again before the end of the day due to the high levels of expected use.

Diane Connors said the situation showed a "disgraceful lack of care for customers".

"A lack of infrastructure in our area results in loss of water frequently," she added. "The last five days have been unusually long however it is not unusual to lose water throughout the year due to pumping station failures in Wichling and Doddington.

"The residents of Charing, Challock and Molash have had enough and will no longer stay quiet on this issue.

"We may be country bumpkins but we deserve the same level of service as other residents in Kent."

Ian Curd wrote: "This company is, at best, incompetent, almost criminally so.

"They [have] no regard for their customers' wellbeing. They have left us without water for five days so far, and no clue as to when the supply will be resumed.

"We have no way of flushing our toilets or washing ourselves or our clothes. These are not the actions of a reputable company."

In a statement, Steve Benton, South East Water’s Incident Manager, said: “All customers in the Challock and Molash area should now have their drinking water supplies restored.

“However, demand for water in the area is still incredibly high, meaning we cannot guarantee customers in the area won’t experience further supply issues.

“As a precaution, our bottled water station at Challock Village Hall will remain open and stocked until 9pm. We’re so sorry for the logistical issues we faced yesterday which kept us from ensuring the station was stocked at all times.

“We know the disruption to the area has been severe – especially given the record-breaking temperatures we have seen this week – and we are incredibly sorry to anyone who has been impacted.

“Our teams have been working around the clock to try and pump extra water in the system, but we have seen unprecedented demand for water.

“We will continue to provide updates on our website, southeastwater.co.uk.”

Additional reporting by Alex Jee