Hundreds of villagers sweltered in the midst of a heatwave after a trio of water pipes burst.

As temperatures soared beyond 30 degrees, more than 500 households had their water supply affected after three water mains burst in Lingfield and Newchapel.

The first burst was in West Park Road and occurred at around 10pm on Wednesday night and repair work commenced at 1am yesterday morning. This caused around 500 properties to have reduced pressure.

The water company then discovered another two had burst at the junction of Eastbourne Road and Wembury Park which caused around 60 properties to lose their water supply altogether..

A Sutton and East Surrey Water spokesman said: "At 9.15 am (after the morning peak use) we shut the system down in order to also repair the second burst. At this point around 36 properties lost their water supply. The bursts were repaired around 12.30 pm.

"When carrying out repairs on the second burst a third burst was found in the same area."

Supplies were restored by about 4pm.

This was not the first time pipes under the A22 have burst. In May last year, homes were flooded after a water main erupted.

And further misery was piled on the residents and their neighbours after another burst in September 2008.

East Surrey MP Peter Ainsworth has expressed his sympathy for and businesses affected demanding a radical solution and pressing the water company to offer a rebate to inconvenienced residents.

He said: "This would be bad enough if it were an isolated incident, but the trouble is that it's not.

"Sutton and East Surrey Water have promised a full investigation of what went wrong this time, but given the history of problems with burst pipes along the A22 it may well be that we need some radical solution.

"Having water supplies cut off is inconvenient at the best of times, but it's even worse during a heat wave.

"In addition, some local businesses have suffered a significant loss of earnings, which they can ill-afford during the recession.

"The water company may not be required by law to pay compensation but, as a monopoly supplier, they should at least consider offering a rebate to those who have been affected, as a gesture of good will."

Sutton and East Surrey Water have apologised for any 'inconvenience' caused.

A spokesman added: "At this stage we do not know why they burst but, as you might expect, we are currently experiencing very high demand for water which is causing fluctuations in the pressure in the mains which can cause problems."

The company issued a statement had on their website referring to a 'special situation' in Eastbourne Road, Newchapel.

Were you affected by the burst watermains? If so, please call our newsdesk on 01737 732 079 or leave a comment below.