The snow may have thawed but its impact is still being felt thanks to burst water mains caused by the freezing conditions.

Residents of Helston, Truro, Penzance, St Ives, Chacewater and Land’s End are being encouraged to store water as South West Water works on the loss of supply to some customers in these areas.

Jo Ecroyd, South West Water’s customer services director, said: “We would like to thank all our customers for their patience and reassure them that we are doing everything we can in this difficult situation.

“We are very aware that some of our customers in the west of Cornwall may be experiencing interruptions to their water supplies. This is being caused by burst mains which we cannot see because the ground is covered by snow.

“Because of the snow and icy conditions these areas are also difficult to access. Whilst working safely our people have been working around the clock, often on foot, to identify where these burst are.

“As soon as we are able to locate the bursts we will undertake repairs. When this happens we may need to interrupt water supplies. With this in mind we would suggest customers store some water so they able to use it throughout the evening and overnight.

“We would also ask customers to check that their garden taps are turned off and not using water.

“Again we would like to thank all of our customers for their patience we are working as fast as we can to return to normal service.”

There is more cold weather advice on the South West Water website southwestwater.co.uk/getreadyforwinter.