A disabled man fought back ill health to come to the rescue of his neighbours after they were left without water for two days due to a cliff collapse.

Phil Smith was forced to head out in his mobility car and stockpile 32 bottles of water for residents following shortages caused by the landslide in Galley Hill Road, Swanscombe.

The 63-year-old said he woke the day after the collapse closed part of the major A-road to find he had no water and could not even fill his kettle.

Desperate for a cup of tea and knowing his neighbours would be too, Phil, who lives in a block of flats at Phoenix Court in Black Eagle Drive, in Northfleet, headed to his local shops to bring back as many bottles of water as he could.

The IT worker, who has the lung condition emphysema, brought the supplies back and carried them up two flights of stairs as the lift was broken.

He said: ""I'm not a hero but I knew they would want a cup of tea. One of my neighbours is in a wheelchair and has been in hospital and another couple are older than me and disabled."

'I'm not a hero but I knew they would want a cup of tea'

"I bought enough for them to be able to fill their kettles and flush their toilets."

Phil is angry at Thames Water over what he claims to be a lack of communication.

"I was happy to do it but I don't see why I should be buying it," he said. "I was fully expecting that by that first afternoon someone would arrive with a big supply of water bottles and apologise for the problem and explain what had happened.

"But nobody is telling us anything. It is all just social media and rumours."

In the first couple of days, Phil and his wife Caz, 60, had an intermittent water supply provided by tankers stationed on the main road.

As a result he says they now have an air lock in their water pipes which means when they flush the toilet it makes a horrendous noise.

"I've tried to fix it by watching YouTube videos but I can't work it out. I'm not a plumber," he said. "It means we can't flush the toilet after 9pm at night because it would wake the neighbours."

"A spokesperson for Thames Water: "We’re maintaining supplies to local properties by using tankers, so there should be no impact on customers’ water.

"We’re currently supplying 590 properties using tankers and exploring options to install temporary pipework to reconnect properties to our supply network."