PUBS, cafes and food stores in Chagford have been left counting the cost after they were forced to close over two days due to water supply issues.

Closure signs were placed on the doors of many village businesses over Sunday and Monday when their water supply dried up due to a burst water main.

The water outage also affected over 900 properties.

Problems were first reported around 5.30am on Sunday and continued through to Monday afternoon.

Simon Court of the historic Three Crowns pub said he could not serve food and drink without running water so had closed to non residents and cancelled bookings.

‘We are trying to accommodate the staying residents,’ he said.

‘Some of them are walkers who are doing the Two Moors Way and have got no way of going anywhere else

‘We spent yesterday afternoon phoning and cancelling quite a few people who were due to check in as we didn’t know when the water was coming back on.

‘We also had bookings for lunch and evening meals that had to be cancelled. It’s had a major effect on our turnover for yesterday and today.’

Mr Court said he had been in communication with South West Water who were fully aware of the impact on his business.

‘Unfortunately this sort of thing happens, the great thing about Chagford is that everyone just pulls together. It’s a case of ‘we have got to deal with it, let’s get on with it’.’

Chris Mount of Blacks Delicatessen, who had to close his shop, said he was sure that South West Water had done everything it could to fix the burst water main as quickly as possible but he described the company’s communication as ‘atrocious’.

‘The emails they do send out are very vague and give no indication of time. Just a guideline would be useful like ‘it’s tricky, it won’t be on for 24 hours’ but there’s nothing.’

Some businesses like the Fat Mouse dairy were able to get by bringing water in from outside and making cups of tea when they were unable to use the coffee machine.

Manager Sue Rogers said: ‘You can’t get a coffee anywhere in the village because we need the water supply for the machines but we have been busy with teas.

‘We have had a lot of custom today because unfortunately lots of places have had to close.’

The Spar shop reported it had sold out of 140 large bottles of water in two and a half hours on Sunday morning and not due another delivery until Tuesday.

A bottled water station was set up at Chagford Primary School on Sunday and South West Water said this would continue until the water supply had returned to all residents and businesses.

Vulnerable residents received deliveries of bottled water.

On Monday afternoon the water company said the repair had now been successfully completed.

A spokesman said: 'However, as the water network recharges and refills, it may take some time for water supplies to fully return to homes and businesses.

‘Customers may not see their water supply restored immediately, and we ask for continued patience while the system recovers.

‘As a precaution, a Boil Water Notice is in place while we complete the necessary water quality checks following the complex repair.

‘Customers should continue to boil tap water before using it for drinking, food preparation, brushing teeth, or any other consumption purposes.

‘We understand this may cause inconvenience and want to reassure you that our teams are working hard to restore normal service as quickly as possible. We will continue to provide regular updates and contact affected customers directly as new information becomes available.’