About 1,000 families have experienced low or no water pressure after a burst water pipe.

The issues began in the Hildenborough and Hilden Park areas at about 8pm last night, and South East Water says they hope the situation will be resolved this afternoon.

The firm is providing bottled water for those affected, at St John’s Church in Tonbridge Road, Hildenborough.

Jim MacIntyre, head of networks at South East Water, said: “We are very sorry to our customers in Hildenborough and Hilden Park who are without water this morning following a burst on a large 12-inch diameter pipe last night.

“The major pipeline in Tonbridge Road burst at around 8pm and a technician was immediately sent to the scene to investigate.

“Our dedicated repair teams have been working through the night and located a three metre long split in the pipe which is buried deep underground. Work is now underway to remove the damaged section of pipeline and replace it which we hope will be complete mid-afternoon.

“Approximately 1,000 properties in the Hildenborough and Hilden Park areas were affected with either low water pressure or no water. However, we have re-directed water around our extensive network of underground pipes which has restored supplies to many of those customers while the repair continues.

“Our extensive network carries 517 million litres of drinking water everyday through 9,000 miles of mains and more than six million joints. If our customers see a leak or burst, they can report it to us by calling our dedicated Leakline on 0333 000 0002 or by visiting our interactive map found at inyourarea.digdat.co.uk/southeastwater."

To help affected villagers, hundreds of bottles of water are being handed out at St John's Church.