Royal Tunbridge Wells – the Kent town which has become synonymous with middle-class affluence – has not had certifiably clean, running water for 11 days now.

And for five days from the evening of 29 November, there was no water at all.

Increasingly frazzled residents relied on bottled mineral water for everything from washing the dishes to hydrating pets. Queuing for bottles at distribution centres became a part of daily life.

On one particularly inclement day, locals collected rainwater in buckets just so they could flush their loos.

As a Tunbridge Wells resident, my family has been one of the approximately 24,000 households affected. New Feature

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The running water has been back for us since Wednesday 3 December, but it is subject

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