Severn Trent bowsers go missing

Dozens of water bowsers sent out to desperate householders during last summer's floods are still missing – with some even turning up for sale on ebay, it was revealed today.

Seven Trent Water sent 1,800 of the bowsers to Gloucestershire to supply fresh water to thousands of homes cut off from normal supplies after the Mythe treatment plant was flooded, contaminating its water.

The bowsers, made of galvanized steel or plastic and each holding between 1,500 and 2,500 litres of water, helped supply water to 140,000 homes that lost their water supply for 17 days last summer.

By the end of August last year, around 300 had not been returned but nearly all have now been accounted for. Around 50, however, are still missing.

Severn Trent spokesman Andrew Marsh said today: "There were bowsers that started appearing for sale on ebay late last summer, and we still occasionally come across one or two that have been moved and forgotten about.

"There were also some bowsers vandalised but the vast majority were safely collected. One thing that last summer taught us is that bowsers are not the best way of supplying water in a large-scale incident. About half of the emergency supplies last summer was provided through bottled water, which proved much more effective."

Meanwhile Severn Trent says it has made "good progress" improving its measures to protect water supplies since last summer.

Severn Trent's chief executive Tony Wray said: "We've learned many lessons from the floods and can now show resulting improvements in our flood defences and in our long-term water supply resilience."