Chris, a driver from the West Midlands, has slept in the cab of his tanker on a Cranleigh road for the past three nights.

Relying on the kindness of local residents, Chris and his colleagues from Larkins in Droitwich have been tasked by Thames Water with pumping water into the network.

Woodland Avenue in Cranleigh has become the centre of an effort to restore the water supply to the village after several days of disruption, which saw residents queuing to collect bottled water during a heatwave.

A ‘technical issue’ at the Netley Mill Water Treatment Works, which supplies more than 8,000 properties in and around Cranleigh, was blamed for losing supply to homes over the weekend.

While Thames Water reported they had restored supplies to the majority of affected homes on Monday morning, the picture since has included burst pipes, further supply disruption, and a never-ending procession of water tankers.

Woodland Avenue resident Noel Boyd explained that today is the fourth-day tankers are parked in the residential street, with as many as four present at a time.

The lead tanker, driven and operated by Chris, pumps water into the system while the others arrive from Godalming to refill Chris’ tanker.

It’s a 24/7 operation, with residents now used to the sound of the diesel generator and tanker vehicle movements at all hours.

Woodland Avenue residents have embraced Chris and his colleague despite the potential for disruption to their sleep.

Noel told us that, along with neighbours, he had provided food and drinks to the drivers, as well as given them access to their toilets and showers. Residents are using the WhatsApp group for their street to coordinate humanitarian efforts.

The drivers have been told to keep pumping water into the network until they are instructed to stop.

Nearby, water tankers are also adding water to the Lambs Wood Reservoir on Bookhurst Road.

Within a short walk from this pumping site, there are several visible water leaks, one that has been steadily flowing for at least a year.

The presence of water tankers follows a weekend of supply disruption and news today of Thames Water introducing a hosepipe ban for all customers next week.

Destination Cranleigh has approached Thames Water to comment about the water tankers’ purpose and how long they might remain in place.