RESIDENTS of a Charmouth estate are threatening legal action - having gone more than eight months without clean water.

The spring water supply at Fernhill Heights Estate, in Charmouth, is contaminated, with residents saying it has caused sickness and diarrhoea.

Residents say they began to see dirty water flowing through their taps as early as February. They took up the issue with Crown but after being unsatisfied with the response, began to correspond with the Environmental Agency and a solicitor.

Ten families on the estate - which is owned by Galliard Homes and managed by Crown Property Management - are now threatening to sue.

Brian Sheldon, 67, who lives on the estate, said: “So many people on the estate have gotten sick over the past nine months.

“It’s gotten progressively worse and worse and the management company won’t listen to us, they’re just burying their heads in the sand.

“You can’t wash, you can’t clean your teeth and of course you can’t drink the water. We’re having to boil everything before we use it.

“We were stuck here during the lockdown, we weren’t able to get out and buy clean water."

He added: "A lot of residents have decided to move elsewhere and many of the owners are selling up - we've all had enough."

A sign installed by Crown reads: "Further to our previous correspondences surrounding the quality of the water at Fernhill Heights Estate, further testing has indicated that coliforms still exist in the incoming water supply."

It advises residents to 'not drink the water supplied through the taps in the property until further notice and to instead only drink bottled water'.

The results of the most recent test carried out last Thursday, October 22 have not yet come through.

Another resident Linda Lissaman-Hill, 81, said: “It has affected us all massively, we’ve had to put up with so much for nearly nine months now.

“So many people have been ill, including the children and the animals.

“The way they have handled the situation is stupid, negligent and dangerous.”

Crown Property Management responded to these claims, stating that it is the responsibility of the individual property owners to carry out regular cleaning and maintenance of the water tanks.

A spokesperson said: "We can confirm that water contamination has occurred directly from the loft tanks which supply the drinking water to the private residences.

"Responsibility is placed on the individual property owners to carrying out regular cleaning and maintenance of their tanks ensuring that they are of a suitable construction.

"However, if the header tank is not properly constructed and protected then any material that may be present in the roof space - dust, mice, bat droppings, etc - will have the potential to enter the tank and so contaminates the supply.

"Furthermore as most the residents don’t live at Fernhill then as a consequence of lockdown it would be fair to say that the tanks are not flushed regularly which is also a contributory factor.

"We have also reminded all owners of their responsibility albeit Dorset Council have stated that should owners not provide the evidence to show the condition, protection and cleaning regime for the tank then there would be a high likelihood of contamination.

"That said, we would not want to apportion blame on any one household and therefore we are issuing further advisory notices to all owners and we shall continue to undertake some precautionary works on the main treatment plant which will reduce the risk partially."