A CHARITY which normally helps in the most deprived parts of Africa was deployed in central Basingstoke after a block of flats was left without water for four days.

Approximately 70 residents living in Crown Heights flats were forced to share one communal tap as a water pipe burst in one of its blocks.

On Saturday March 11, FirstPort Bespoke Property Services, which manages the flats, were notified of the problem, but residents were left having to queue to use the tap before taking water up several flights of stairs due to a broken lift in the block.

Jean Pattison, who lives in the flats and fundraises for Isle of Wight-based charity Roll Out the Barrel Charity Trust, which supports the elderly, women and children who collect water by providing them with a simple 30l bin to aid them, contacted the organisation who quickly came to the rescue of families in the block.

She said: “Faced with the prospect of days without water, residents started to purchase buckets and haul water to their homes. Within hours, the nearest Wilko had sold out of buckets.”

The charity’s chairman Adrian Brewer immediately hopped on the ferry from the Isle of Wight to deliver 13 barrels to help the residents after he was notified of the problems.

Jean added: “The experience of having to collect water has made all residents more aware of the trials faced by people in developing countries who do not have tap water in their own homes.

“There has been camaraderie in the queue for the tap.

“However, there has also been anger at FirstPort for their lack of information and provision of help and the unreasonable time it has taken to repair the burst pipe.

“It was eventually fixed late afternoon on Tuesday but contractors had to work their way around each property to re-pressurise the system so some households had no water until evening.”

The company said extensive damage was caused following a burst water pipe and that the “24/7 on-site team moved quickly to make the area safe”.

A spokesperson for FirstPort Bespoke Property Services said the company was “very sorry for the inconvenience”.

They added: “We appreciate that the limited water supply that followed was not ideal, but we believe that having to evacuate the development would be significantly more inconvenient for our residents.

“The delay in getting the pipe fixed was due to having to source a specialist part, which we did as quickly as possible. Our regional manager and on-site team were available throughout the period to answer any questions and we endeavoured to provide water where we could. We are grateful for the support of ‘Roll out the Barrel’ and will be making a contribution to the charity to thank them for their help.”

To find out more about Roll Out the Barrel Trust visit rolloutthebarrel.org.