VULNERABLE residents in a high-rise block of flats lost water and the lift after a leak caused chaos. The 13-floor Blackdown flats in North Road, Westcliff, saw its water supply, toilet facilities and lifts lost entirely after a leak beneath the block.

Anne Jones, deputy leader of the Labour group at Southend Council said the lift shaft at the block, run by South Essex Homes had been completely flooded. She said: “The officers from South Essex Homes acknowledged this is a really terrible situation and there needs to be a much better approach.

“We found out about the issue from the Balmoral Centre who worked all through the night to keep the residents’ water supply going. “The water is not the only issue, however.

“There are elderly and vulnerable residents in this block and without a lift, they will struggle to get down to the centre to get water.” About 800 litres of water was handed out to residents in the first 24 hours of the leak. Although letters explaining the situation were delivered by hand to every resident, Mrs Jones claimed improvements were needed as she criticised how South Essex Homes dealt with major issues.

She said: “This is unacceptable and I’m sure lessons will be learned from this.We need improved co-ordination when incidents such as this happen. “We need immediate response when it comes to major incidents and people who in an emergency, are easily identifiable to residents when they need support.”

Staff worked hard to get water to residents on Friday, following the problem which began on Thursday. The lifts returned to working order on Saturday, and a temporary water supply saw running water returned to flats on floors four to 14 on Sunday.

Tony Cox, Tory councillor for adults and housing, said: “Emergency planning staff have been working with South Essex Homes on our joint response, and adult social care staff have been supporting and advising vulnerable residents as appropriate.”