UNDRINKABLE water plaguing a Worcestershire village looks like mud.

Homes and businesses in Kempsey, near Worcester, have had sandy deposits in their water since the start of May.

But on Monday, the landlord at village pub The Anchor Inn was forced to shut down his kitchen after the water turned black.

"We've been having problems for weeks, but this is worse than ever," said David Rigby, landlord at the pub on Main Road.

"It's black - you can't see through it.

"It's like mud, or like it's from the bottom of a lake.

"I'll be alright with the bar but you can't cook with it. I'd be shut down."

He said Severn Trent had said it was going to flush the water pipes in order to solve the village's problem.

"They've said they're investigating it and they're trying to sort it but what can I do? It's scandalous."

The Evening News reported last week that residents had been faced with sandy deposits in their water since a new pipe was fitted.

Severn Trent claimed they had been stirred up during the works.

But a former superintendent at the company's works in Worcester claimed that was not the case.

John Hickman, who lives on Old Road North, Kempsey, believed the deposits were the result of the water supply being cut off before a burst pipe was exposed.

"If you get this in the water on the main flow, that's a serious problem," he said.

"The only way to get rid of it is to flush it from the source."

Mr Hickman now designs and builds water treatment plants and is considering fitting a filter to his own supply.

Severn Trent said the flushing programme would continue for a number of weeks. But the water supply at The Anchor appeared to have cleared yesterday.

"It may well be a case of it gets worse before it clears," said Kate Cox, spokeswoman for Severn Trent.

"If people have a real problem they need to contact us.

"The whole idea behind it is to clear the pipes once and for all."