Hackney Council has come under fire after residents of a block of flats in Stoke Newington went without running water for days.

The local authority said that a "loss of water pressure" to properties in Carlyle House, Albion Road, was first reported on November 25 by a resident living in the block.

A spokesperson for Hackney Council confirmed that the plumber sent out the following day reported "a drop in water pressure since recent works were carried out in the area by Thames Water".

They added that the council contacted the water provider "immediately", but the utility company "refused to carry out a joint inspection".

The spokesperson continued: "Following further reports to Thames Water by more residents on November 27, Thames Water attended the site and found one of the incoming valves was defective which was dug up and renewed."

Fifty per cent of affected properties had their water restored by Sunday morning (November 28).

One resident - Hayley_LDN on Twitter - tweeted on that same day: "Our block of flats hasn't had water in days and the council keep deferring the problem to Thames Water who have been great [but] it is not their issue.

"Hackney have refused to deal with the property or visit residents."

She alleged the council had not provided water for residents despite many residents being "vulnerable".

Thames Water did provide bottled water to residents on the Sunday, despite stating the repairs were the council's responsibility.

Thames Water says its engineers volunteered to carry out the works to restore water supplies for residents sooner.

“Our engineers discovered the issue was due to a faulty valve on private property belonging to the council," said a spokesperson for Thames Water.

“[They] carried out a replacement to the valve which resulted in water being restored to the flats."

On Monday - November 29 - a council spokesperson clarified that the issue was due to a pipe blockage: "Temporary repairs have been undertaken and water has been reinstated to all properties.

"A permanent repair will be undertaken in the coming days.”