Hundreds of charities are set to benefit from a community fund set up in the wake of "nightmare" water shortages which left residents high and dry.

Communities in Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells and the Weald will benefit from thousands of pounds in funding from South East Water.

It comes after families and businesses suffered with a number of water shortages last year.

In December, emergency bottle stations had to be set up for residents in Tunbridge Wells during the cold snap.

More than 3,000 were left with little to no water due to a burst pipe – with some being forced to melt snow to be able to flush their toilet.

In Loose, homeowners were frustrated after four hundred properties had no running taps for four days in January.

During this time two schools were forced to close, with students being sent away to complete work online.

South East Water says that in the space of 24 hours the region experienced a rapid rise in temperature of 20 degrees.

A jump from -7 to 13C led to an outbreak of bursts and leaks on the pipe network that drained supplies.

They add that customers directly affected have already been personally compensated.

One hundred charities in Tunbridge Wells have also received a share of £100,000 from South East Water – ranging from £500 to £5,000.

Groups and organisations were chosen by MP Greg Clark and a judging panel after being invited to apply.

Representatives from the charities received their cheques at a ceremony at the Trinity Theatre in Church Road, which itself got a £1,500 grant.

Mr Clark said: “Following the water outages last December my priority was to ensure that individual households were compensated.

"South East Water listened to my concerns by going beyond the statutory minimum and paying households up to £250 – more than the average bill for a year.

"This resulted in £1.8 million paid out in compensation to households in my constituency.

“However I am delighted that South East Water have gone one step further and recognised the impact that these outages had on the community as a whole, by generously endowing this community fund which will benefit so many good causes.

“Moving forward we must ensure there is good resilience in our local water network and I will continue to work with South East Water to ensure that this is delivered.”

One of the charities to receive funding was the Baptist Church Community Larder in Upper Grosvenor Road, which provides fresh vegetables and fruit for residents.

"The grant will enable us to continue to meet a vital need of supporting those in the community," charity worker John Payne explained.

"It will also enable us to supplement what we provide through purchasing basic goods we find it difficult to get hold of.”

Those in Maidstone and the Weald are also being invited to apply for the grants.

South East Water has set up a £30,000 community fund to help charities in the constituency.

Applications for the fund can be made here and the closing date is 5pm on Friday, April 21.

MP Helen Grant said: “The team at South East Water has a big challenge on their hands to modernise their supply infrastructure and avoid future outages like those we suffered last Christmas and I will be monitoring progress.

“I welcome, however, the compensation that has been paid to many of the families and businesses which suffered, and I commend this community charity fund initiative wholeheartedly.

"I am sure there will be many applications and I look forward to reviewing them with South East Water at the end of April.”

Customer services director, Tanya Sephton at South East Water said: “We know this was a very tough time for the whole community, especially as it happened during the festive season.

“The weather is outside of our control and when sudden, big changes in temperature happen, it can have a huge impact, causing leaks and bursts both on our network and on customers’ pipework. This is what happened in December.

“We take our role as a local responsible water company seriously and wanted to thank residents for their understanding.

"This is a gesture which will have a long term benefit for everyone and there’s no better way than to support the tireless work of the great causes which are right at the heart of the community. A big thank you to them all.”