Thousands of residents are facing nothing in their taps after a problem at a water booster station cut off supplies to three Kent towns.

Southern Water first reported a disruption to customers in Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate at 11pm last night, with those affected describing the situation as "disgraceful".

The issue appears to be ongoing, with up to 10,000 people said to be without water.

A statement on the utility company’s website at 3am read: “Customers in Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate in Kent may have woken up this morning to no water or low water pressure."

Residents reacted angrily online, highlighting the frequency of such water outages in recent weeks.

"It’s the fourth time since December," one posted on Twitter.

"When are we going to be compensated for not having water for the third time in a month in CT9? Literally cannot rely on you, first time it was over 48 hours," complained another.

"No water again in Broadstairs. This is disgraceful and still no compensation from the December loss of supply," added one more.

'It’s the fourth time since December...'

An update on the situation was posted on the utility company's website later this morning.

It said teams had worked through the night in an effort to resolve the problem, but that “it will take time to get water flowing”.

“We are very sorry for the distress this is causing and we are continuing to work on fixing a problem at a water booster station in Broadstairs which is disrupting water supplies," read the statement.

But responding to a complaint on social media, the water firm said it would be "inappropriate to speculate" when normal services might be restored.

Southern Water warned that as water does return, customers should not be alarmed by low pressure, discoloured water or bubbles.

“We have started to deliver bottled water to people on our Priority Services Register today,” it added.

“Anyone who needs access to bottled water as a priority, can sign up to our Priority Services Register for emergency deliveries by calling 0330 303 0368.

“We are sorry for the distress and inconvenience caused to our customers by this incident.”