WORK to replace water pipes in Darwen has been branded a disaster by the mother of a sick baby after her supplies were cut off for the fourth day in a row.

Linda Holden, of Newton Street, Darwen, said she was left without water to feed and bathe her six-month-old daughter Charlotte, who is suffering from a viral infection.

Mrs Holden, who also has three other children, said on three of the days her water was turned off for up to an hour without warning and on another occasion it was off for 12 hours with no alternative supply. The worried mother said: "I accept that there was an emergency situation on Thursday and supplies had to be turned off because of the gas leak in Kay Street, but it really is ridiculous.

"My baby is poorly and needs to be bathed to keep her temperature down, but there has been no communication from North West Water."

A spokeswoman for North West Water said complicated work to replace all water mains in the area often meant re-zoning of supplies.

She said: "The householders were given advance notice of a cut off, but other loss of supplies for short periods of time has been unavoidable."

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