hundreds of people told to wash at gyms after water failure

Hundreds of residents at Barbican Estate have been told to use gyms to shower after a water leak left with with little to no water (Picture: Getty Images)

Hundreds of residents in a London estate have been told to shower at gyms after being abandoned with little to no water.

Around 486 residents at the Barbican Estate have been left with no or low-pressure water since Thursday morning after a mains leak on Aldersgate Street.

Those affected have been told that the issue may persist for the rest of the weekend.

The City of London Corporation,which owns and manages the Barbican Estate,said it had made agreements with nearby gyms to offer showers to residents,MyLondon reports.

It said showers and other facilities at Nuffield Health and Golden Lane Leisure Centre would be available for residents to use ‘on a first-come,first-served basis’.

Golden Lane Leisure Centre,which is managed by Fusion Lifestyle,said it is offering shower and toilet facilities to all residents affected by the water outage.

More than 400 residents have been advised to use nearby gyms to wash themselves (Picture: Getty Images)

Scarlett Hayward,centre manager,said: ‘We are keen to make sure we can help the community as much as possible during this water outage and are pleased to offer our showers and toilets to help people until this issue is resolved.’

The centre is open from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays and 8am to 2pm on Sundays,and on weekdays from Monday to Thursday from 6.30am until 8pm.

Staff at the centre have urged residents to bring their own towels and toiletries when accessing the centre.

More than 400 homes across Mountjoy House,Thomas More House,Seddon House,Lauderdale Tower and Lambert Jones Mews,have been left without water or very little pressure,The Times reported.

Thames Water has apologised to its customers and said engineers are working to repair the leak.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: ‘We’re sorry to customers in the Aldersgate area who have no water or lower pressure than normal today due to a leak on Aldersgate Street. 

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‘Our engineers are currently on site repairing the leak,and we are aiming for the water to be back in supply as soon as possible.

‘In the meantime,we are providing bottled water to affected residents, and our customer representatives will be in the area to provide further support.’

Metro has contacted the City of London Corporation and Nuffield Health for comment.