Peter Simpson, Chief Executive of Anglian Water has apologised to thousands of customers who were left without water over the weekend as the result of a faulty valve on a water main in Leighton Buzzard.

Residents queued for bottled water with about 12,000 properties in Leighton Buzzard, Toddington, Hockliffe and surrounding areas affected at the peak of the incident.

Describing the weekend as “a huge challenge for our company” in an open letter to customers, Peter Simpson explained that although Anglian had been able to fix the initial problem, it was followed by issues with air trapped in pipes, restricting local supply.

While the work meant the number of people affected kept getting smaller, “regrettably some went the whole weekend without a reliable water supply”, he said. The Anglian Water Chief Executive spent Saturday and Sunday on the scene, in and around Leighton Linslade, speaking to many customers face to face.

He described the work as “a complex engineering job, far more challenging than might appear on the surface.” The problem had only been solved by a team working together to chip away at the problem, 24 hours a day and many of the challenges they had encountered “simply could not have foreseen.”

Peter Simpson commented:

“I want to say sorry personally to the customers who were affected. I I listened to their frustrations, while reassuring them that we were on the case.”

“The reliable service they expect from us fell short. I understand that, and I will personally oversee a thorough review and ensure we learn lessons from the incident. We will also be contacting everyone affected regarding compensation once the situation is fully resolved, and to discuss how we make amends to the community.”

“We will be working with community representatives to understand how we can best make amends for the disruption this incident caused.”