Families, pensioners and disabled people were given just two bottles of water to use after the water went off in their 17-storey towerblock, it was claimed today.

Residents of Humphries House in Brownhills, which consists of 100 flats, were unable to use their sinks, toilets, showers, baths and washing machines over the weekend.

The Walsall Housing Group block was without running water from 9am until 6.30pm on Saturday.

The water was then on an off-and-on basis for the rest of the weekend, with engineers having to come out to reset the towerblock’s pump every two hours.

Residents were given two, two-litre bottles of water, distributed in the car park.

Caroline Hawkins, aged 56, has lived in the flats, off Lindon Close, for 14 years.

Mrs Hawkins, a deputy manager of a bookmakers, said: “It is absolutely disgusting. We couldn’t wash or go to the toilet — it was a nightmare.

“WHG said each flat could have four litres of water and dropped them off in the car park. But they should have gone door-to-door — my neighbour is a 90-year-old widow and she couldn’t get down there and carry two big bottles of water back up.

“And four litres really isn’t enough to live on for the whole weekend.”

WHG told residents engineers will fix the fault permanently today.

Lyndsey Hunt, spokeswoman for Walsall Housing Group, said: “Specialist water pumps that feed Humphries House failed and residents were without tap water for most of Saturday.

“Whg colleagues and the specialist sub-contractor attended to repair the pumps within the day.”We provided four litres of bottled drinking water per flat, 280 litres in total, and a water bowser, courtesy of South Staffs Water, for residents.

“We apologise for the inconvenience the pump failure caused.”