South East Water says supplies restored to about 7,400 Kent properties

On Monday, SEW apologised to customers.

Head of health and safety Mike Pickard told BBC South East the team were “exhausted and being pushed to limits” trying to manage the “unacceptable” situation.

While understanding the difficulties faced by customers, he said the company was aware of a number of incidents of abuse directed at staff and contractors, which it would “not tolerate”.

On Tuesday, he added: “Being angry about the situation is understandable, but attacking a vehicle, threatening a member of staff or subjecting our teams to abuse is not acceptable.

“No one should face threats, intimidation or violence simply for doing their job, our people are not responsible for the disruption.

“If our teams feel unsafe, they may have no choice but to leave an area.”

On Monday, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the situation was “simply not good enough.”

A spokesperson said the company’s new leadership “must now deliver a step change in performance, where customers’ needs are prioritised”.

SEW was the first water firm to issue a hosepipe ban this summer, having barred 850,000 customers in Kent on 3 July.

This ban was extended to parts of Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire about three weeks later.