MANY North Wembley residents were left without water at the weekend after an underground main burst.

Some suffered low pressure but others lost supplies completely while water company Three Valleys struggled to find the leak.

Jas Yembra, of Lulworth Avenue, said she and her husband and their two children lost their supply at 6am on Saturday, and were not reconnected until late on Monday morning.

She she rang Three Valleys several times a day but did not see any workmen in the area until Sunday. Her family had to go to relatives' homes to wash, and they had no central heating.

She said: "I've lived here for nine years and this is not the first time this has happened, although it's never gone on for this long before.

"It happens once or twice a year. It's appalling in this day and age. The impression I get is that they don't do any maintainence. We pay our water rates but we don't get any service in return."

Three Valleys apologised on Monday, explaining that the burst took a long time to find and repair because it was underground and not visible.

"As soon as we were aware of the problem, a team was on site to restore supplies," said a spokesman. Around 5 kilometres of pipes serve the area and these are all being systematically checked.

"We arranged alternative water supplies, with two water tankers and bottled water delivered to homes. The majority of affected properties were re-connected by early Sunday afternoon, although a few were not restored until Monday morning.

"We would like to thank our customers for their patience."