They cannot even flush their toilets: life in east London blocks where taps often run dry | TheBriefWire
They cannot even flush their toilets: life in east London blocks where taps often run dry
Published 11 August 2026 ยท general
Devons Road estate residents describe months-long ordeal of not being able to wash, clean or cook for much of the day Hundreds in London flats
Devons Road estate residents describe months-long ordeal of not being able to wash, clean or cook for much of the day Hundreds in London flats left without regular running water since last year Christmas Day in east London.
Beatrice Asante empties a bag of potatoes into her kitchen sink and turns on the tap. Nothing. She turns it off and on again. Still nothing.
What now? Asante rushes out to the only shop that is open, the local Nisa convenience store. She buys several big plastic bottles of water. Enough, she thinks, to make dinner and to last until the taps start running again.
Published: August 11, 2026 โข 10:30 AM IST ยท Updated: August 11, 2026 โข 11:10 AM ISTBy TheBriefWire Editorial Team
Key points
Devons Road estate residents describe months-long ordeal of not being able to wash, clean or cook for much of the day Hundreds in London flats left without regular running water since last year Christmas Day in east London.
Beatrice Asante empties a bag of potatoes into her kitchen sink and turns on the tap.
She turns it off and on again.
Asante rushes out to the only shop that is open, the local Nisa convenience store.