Swap paddling pools for water blasters to keep cool in heatwave, Britons urged

The Independent describes its mission to send journalists to report on developing issues and to keep coverage accessible without paywalls. It emphasizes separating facts from messaging and serving readers across the political spectrum. South East Water urges households to curb use of children’s paddling pools as exceptionally high temperatures drive very high demand for tap water. Homes in areas including Ashford, Maidstone, Cranbrook, Battle, and Hurstpierpoint experienced interruptions to supply. Nearly 800 properties in three Kent villages had disruptions over the bank holiday weekend. The company asks residents to use water only for essential purposes such as drinking, washing, and cooking because water stores are low and demand outstrips treatment and pumping capacity.

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"A water company is asking householders to curb their use of children's paddling pools as hundreds of properties are without water in the heatwave. South East Water has urged people to use water blasters pressure washers or toy water guns to reduce the high demand for water. Homes around Ashford, Maidstone and Cranbrook in Kent, and Battle in East Sussex and Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex suffered interruptions to their water supply on Wednesday."

"Nearly 800 properties in three villages in Kent had several days of disruptions over the bank holiday weekend. The company is calling on residents to use water for essential purposes only such as drinking, washing and cooking, because its water stores are low already and demand is outstripping the speed at which it can treat it and pump it to homes. We're sorry to customers experiencing water supply issues."

"Exceptionally high temperatures have, as expected, created very high demand for tap water supplies, a company spokesperson said. Some residents have faced water outages in Kent and parts of Sussex (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire) Despite planning fo"

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