BOTTLED water will be delivered to homes in parts of Kempsey today after angry residents attended a stormy meeting with Severn Trent Water managers.

About 80 people packed the Community Centre last night to demand explanations for their eight-week ordeal with tap water containing sediment that damages domestic appliances.

They turned down an offer of bowsers after being told the water would have to be boiled, instead demanding supplies of bottled water for Hillside, Windmill Lane, Brook End Lane and The Limes, until clear tap water is restored.

There were calls for compensation, reimbursement of costs and the waiving of water rates for at least the last quarter.

Customer contact manager Fraser Pithie gave assurances that plumbers would be provided free for the next month to do any necessary work on damaged appliances and Severn Trent would reimburse those who had already engaged plumbers.

He accepted a suggestion from parish councillor Neville Brookes that a surgery be held in the Community Centre, when those presenting invoices for plumbing work would be reimbursed.

However, he said customers would still be asked to pay their full water bills for the quarter.

Many people present complained about the firm's poor customer services, saying operators on an emergency helpline were often rude and unhelpful.

Only the most persistent and determined residents had been supplied with bottled water, while others had had to buy their own.

Many had been advised to run their taps for 20 minutes until the water ran clear, which had been false advice and expensive for those using water meters.

Mr Pithie said metered customers would receive credits on their next accounts.

He apologised for Severn Trent's failure to respond to the problem in Kempsey, saying the firm had failed in its internal communications, as well as its communication with customers.

It could take one or two more weeks to sort out the problems, but letters would be sent to all 1,440 properties in the village giving a full explanation and details of arrangements now being put in place, he said.

The problems began in late April when an old main was decomissioned and a new one opened up following a £200,000 building programme which started in January.

"The velocity of water disturbed sediment of iron and manganese particles, which was carried up into the village," said the firm's operations and maintenance manager, Andy Barber.

"We thought we had that under control, but we started to plan systematic flushing of the area to make sure it didn't happen again, with a letter drop to inform customers what we were doing."

Unfortunately, residents received the letter two or three days after suffering more problems, when the sediment was stirred up again by the increased demand for water during a spell of hot weather.