WATER has started returning to Droitwich homes after a burst water main left people without water on a hot day.

Severn Trent Water said people living in the WR9 postcode should have seen the water starting to return to their taps from around 6.30pm.

Some people living in Westlands have been without water since 7.30am on Wednesday.

The problem led to the closure of Westlands First School in Farmers Way, Droitwich and saw local shops run out of bottled water.

Some complained that many - especially the elderly and vulnerable - were struggling without access to water as the temperature rose to 30C.

Amanda Paxton, who lives in Westlands, said she was without water all day yesterday although it had started to return now.

She said: "I have got water but the pressure is still quite low.

"It was a nightmare yesterday with no water all day in that heat.

"I have a son with special needs and a heart condition who needs to shower or bath every morning which he couldn't do yesterday and my Mum who also lives on the estate has a heart condition.

"Both of them need to stay hydrated.

"I don't drive and the local shop ran out of water very quickly so I had to wait for my husband to get home at 6.30pm to bring us some water which he got from Sainsbury's in Worcester."

Sharie Reeve said she would be complaining to Severn Trent Water after her partner rang to say they had a three month old baby but was told they were not a priority.

She said: "We have a three month old baby Alfie who needed bottles. He has a feed every three hours.

"Aldi and Morrisons' had run out of water and our local shop didn't have any and we don't drive.

"They said you aren't a priority and to contact my health visitor. I don't know what they thought she could do.

"Luckily I went back to Costcutter at 6.30pm and they had some more water but otherwise I wouldn't have had any at all.

"We have a four year old as well and in this weather she needs a drink."

Last night, Severn Trent Water brought in water tankers to inject directly into the network.

A statement put out by Severn Trent water read: "The burst was in a very tricky location, meaning that we had to put on temporary traffic lights while we dug down two metres to get to the pipe, which was also encased in concrete.

"Rather than have customers wait any longer than necessary for water on such a hot day, we decided to bring in water tankers to inject directly into our network.

"The pipe repair is going to take longer to complete, and may not be finished until Friday, but we're aiming to keep everyone on supply using tankers in the meantime, although there may be the occasional short-term interruption."

Mrs Paxton said she had only received one text message from Severn Trent Water 12 hours after the water went off.

The company apologised to customers for the problem and also for a lack of communication, saying a problem with sending text messages was caused by systems failure.

Further updates will be available at stwater.co.uk or via twitter: @stwater.