Imagine waking up every day and not knowing whether you will have water when you turn the taps on.

This has been the situation for some homeowners in Crystal Palace off and on for more than a year.

The inconvenience of being unable to wash, bathe the children, flush the toilet or even make a cup of tea has left people seething at Thames Water.

To try and address concerns Croydon North MP Steve Reed invited people to question water bosses at a meeting in Parliament.

Francis Bernstein and Jodie Littlewood took up the offer to speak on behalf of their neighbours and told Thames Water chiefs how frequently problems occurred and how it affected their lives.

Mr Reed said: “I’m incredibly grateful to Jodie and Francis for coming in to tell Thames Water what just how bad it’s been over the past few months.

“There are clearly problems with the water-pumping system in the Crystal Palace area and local people need to know how these are going to be put right.

“People can’t keep waking up to find they have no water, we must see improvement as quickly as possible.”

The MP said Thames Water has agreed to publish detailed plans of repair work due to continue until April next year and to keep residents informed about risks to supply and when they will be sorted out.

And he said that the company is considering offering customers money back on their bills.

A Thames Water spokeswoman said: “We’re sorry our customers in Crystal Palace have had problems.

“We’re part-way through upgrading our equipment, and this work will give residents a much more consistent and stable water supply.”

Water supply in Crystal Palace has been affected by a number of things, including burst mains reducing pressure to the area and the failure of the pumps that push water around the network.