Householders in Blackburn and Darwen should start to see their water supply return to normal today,

United Utilities have said. It follows a weekend when hundreds of homes had low water pressure or no water following a burst pipe on Old Farmside, Ewood, Blackburn.

A statement from Utilities said: “Customers in the BB1, BB2 and BB3 areas of Blackburn and Darwen who have been experiencing no water or lower water pressure than normal are now expected to have their water supplies restored this evening.

“The problem has been caused by a burst water main at Old Farmside, Ewood. United Utilities has been working around the clock to isolate and prepare the pipework so that repairs can get under way.

“The work has been very complex due to the depth of the water main and the need to keep workers safe. In the meantime, 22 water tankers are pumping supplies directly into the water network to help boost the pressure in the area.

“Engineers have managed to bypass the burst, and this is expected to allow many customers to return to normal mains supply by around 6.30pm this evening. The remaining customers will gradually see their water pressure improve over the course of the evening.”

United Utilities said it had handed out more than 15,000 bottles of water at two locations since 8am this morning, with a third bottled water station opening in Darwen. These will remain open until 8.30pm this evening.

Phil Sweeney, incident manager for United Utilities, said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience this is causing, and we do understand how difficult it is for customers particularly during such hot weather.

“The good news is that all customers should see their water supply return this evening. Our engineering teams have been working tirelessly to isolate, dig down and repair the pipe and this work is continuing. “Our bottled water stations have been very busy and we have also been supporting care homes and vulnerable customers with home deliveries of bottled water. We’ve been working closely alongside Blackburn with Darwen Council to make sure we get the support to people who need it most.

“While our immediate priority is to restore water supplies, I want to reassure customers that we will be making automatic compensation payments to anyone who has gone without water for more than 12 hours. Householders affected do not need to contact us, this will all happen automatically.

“We thank everyone for their patience.”