Horses go thirsty after Warwickshire farm left without water for three days

The water supply to Mill Farm Ashorne, near Ashorne and Moreton Morrell, suddenly cut out at around lunchtime on Monday July 2.

Farmer Chris Gardner and his parents John and Sue Gardner, who also live on the farm, called Severn Trent, which supplies water to businesses, to sort the problem. They also contacted Water Plus, who sort out water bills for businesses.

But in the three days it took to get the issue fixed, the Gardners had to rely on their neighbours and even the fire brigade to keep their horses hydrated.

Sue said: "We have 35 horses on this farm, two people over 70 and someone with serious health problems."

At around 9pm on Monday an engineer from Severn Trent Water came out but could not find the water meter.

Another engineer then came out on Tuesday July 3, who found the meter had no flow through it. This meant there was no leak.

At this point, the Gardners had to get water from a neighbour who had a water bowser.

But by Wednesday, they felt they had to call Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service to top up their water supplies while they waited for the problem to be fixed.

Sue added: "Having to call the fire brigade out was the last straw. We have so much respect for those chaps - they have enough to deal with. But they were so kind and helpful.

"And the engineers from Severn Trent had done their best."

The supply issue was eventually fixed this morning (Thursday July 5) after a fault was found further down the pipeline.

A spokesperson for Water Plus said: “We are pleased the water supply has been restored by Severn Trent to the farmer and we appreciate the situation has been difficult for Mr Gardner and the horses at the site.

“To support the farmer, we have been directly liaising with Severn Trent, who are the wholesaler for the area and responsible for managing any network water supply issues. Severn Trent say the issue was on private pipes.

“Our role in resolving supply problems, as a water retailer, is limited to arranging a technician to investigate a potential leak on a customer site, where this is appropriate. This is a paid for service that we provide to support customers who request it. Wholesalers would work on repairs and supplies on the water network and provide updates to affected areas.

“We are pleased Severn Trent have restored the water on site and we continue our contact with the customer to investigate what has happened.”