Mains water is being reconnected to all the of the flood-hit homes in Gloucestershire today, but the fight for drinking water is far from over with experts warning residents not to consume it.

All of the 140,000 homes that lost their water supply during the floods will be plumbed back in by the end of the day. Severn Trent have confirmed that the population of Tewkesbury can once again take showers and flush their toilets, but they must not drink their tap water.

Many families have been without running water for ten days after the Mythe treatment plant, near Tewkesbury, was submerged by floodwaters. The ensuing water shortage resulted in the police guarding bottled water in supermarkets and the launch of one of the largest peacetime operations in UK history as millions of litres of water were taken to the county.

But as the water was gradually switched back on across Gloucestershire in the past few days dozens of unaware home-owners were embarrassed by a second round of flooding, with some customers having left their taps in the 'on' position during the recent floods, and being taken by surprise when the water started flowing again. As overflowing water poured into homes, the fire brigade responded to numerous calls from residents asking for their homes to be pumped out once again.

The chaos in Gloucestershire followed billions of pounds worth of flood damage in Yorkshire and the Midlands after the wettest start to a UK summer on record.

The Government is still calculating the precise extent of the flood damage, but announced today that it will apply to the European Union for emergency flood funding. The solidarity fund typically pays out between 2.5 and 5 per cent of the cost of the damage if it deems a country to be eligible for support.

Life was returning to normal across the Gloucestershire as hundreds of council staff returned to their headquarters at Shire Hall in Gloucester. The Crown Court is also expected to open its doors tomorrow, after being forced to close for more than a week.

Martin Kane, Severn Trent’s director of customer services, said: “By the end of today we are hopeful that all customers who were originally affected by the shutdown of Mythe water treatment works will have running tap water.

“We must continue to remind customers that any restored supplies must not be used for drinking, even after boiling. But it’s perfectly safe to use for showering, bathing, flushing toilets and washing clothes.”

The water company has flushed millions of gallons of water through more than 1,200 miles of pipes and they continue to test the quality of the water. It is unknown when the water will be declared safe to drink, but until then bowsers will continue to be filled and bottled water dropped on street corners.

The emergency operations in Gloucestershire are almost over - but it emerged today that they have been receiving help from an unexpected source. A Liverpool man has pleaded guilty of impersonating a firefighter after traveling to Tewkesbury to aid the rescue operations.

Peter Jennings, 49, from Kirkdale was seen on television by fire crews from Liverpool, who had previously encountered the man's vigilante fire fighting. They alerted the Gloucestershire authorities.

Joan Hughes, representing him, said: “He came down to Gloucestershire with good intentions. All he wanted to do was help.” But Mr Jennings is accused of hampering operations and stealing from a firefighter’s uniform.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Iran arrests relatives of opposition leaders
• Banksy rival has final word in art feud
• Electrician travels 175 miles to change bulb