Fed-up householders were left with no water for almost two days because of a burst water pipe.

Homes and business in Mildenhall and Axford first lost their water supply at about 2pm on Sunday afternoon, and continued to have problems until 5pm the next day.

John and Pam Desmond, who own the Horse Shoe pub in Mildenhall, said the loss of water hit their business hard.

Mr Desmond, 61, said: “It was very frustrating because nobody from the water company told us what had happened or when it was going to be back on, so when we got the water supply back on Monday we filled up kettles and containers just in case.

“The water came back on at about 5pm on Sunday but then it went off again in the morning and we didn’t have it for most of that day.

“It was very inconvenient because couldn’t do the washing up from the Sunday lunch or wash any of the glasses, and the urinals and toilets were very unpleasant.

“You don’t appreciate water until it’s gone.”

Thames Water has an online live feed with the latest information on repairs, reported leaks and planned improvements across its network, but the leak in Sound Bottom Lane was not featured on the site on Monday morning, which angered many residents.

Mildenhall resident Robert Chiodi, 48, said: “I turned on the tap on Monday morning and the water was back on, so I went out into the back to exercise because I thought I’d be able to shower but when I got back in the water was off again.

“I help an old lady out and I had to ring her and cancel because I was all sweaty.

“I rang Thames Water at about 7.30am to find out what the problem was and it hadn’t been logged.

“What was really frustrating was that it wasn’t updated online all day.”

Axford resident Carol-ine Ansty, 43, said: “On Sunday I went to check the problem online but it didn’t give any detail so I rang Thames Water.

“I asked them for a call back to let me know when the water came back on and they told me to just keep my tap on all day.

“What I found most annoying was that when I went onto Thames Water’s website on Monday the problem had not been logged and it was not updated during the day.”

A Thames Water spokesman said: “We are really sorry for the disruption caused to customers following a burst water pipe in Sound Bottom Lane.

“Around 600 properties were affected but our engineers were able to get the pipe repaired and supplies restored by 5pm on Monday evening.”