The landlord of a village pub with a ‘do not drink’ notice says business is suffering

A pub owner in a village affected by water contamination from a fuel leak claims the problem is scaring away customers. Bramley, near Guildford in Surrey, has hundreds of residents advised not to use their water supply due to contamination concerns.

Thames Water issued a precautionary ‘do not drink’ notice to 616 homes on Thursday. The company said it had carried out additional water sampling in Bramley since October last year “following a historic fuel spill at the village petrol station”.

A statement said: “The advice not to drink tap water follows results received today indicating high levels of hydrocarbons.” Jolly Farmer owner Chris Hardstone claimed on Friday that he had raised concerns about the 2021 fuel issue.

The 67-year-old has run the pub with his brother Steve, 66, for 40 years. Chris revealed: “In 2021, our cellar just smelled of smoke – and this smell of petrol wafted into the bar.”

“It took ages for people to come and have a look, but when they did, we had people checking for gas leaks, for fire safety. We were initially told it was mold – but of course it wasn’t. It was a leak from the gas station.”

Mr Hardstone said they had to close the hotel section of the pub, resulting in a loss of business. “These issues meant we had to close our accommodation section – so we lost business there,” he added.

“And of course, when word gets out that the local pub smells of petrol, that also affects business.” Bottled water stations were set up in the village.

Locals were asked not to use their water source for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth. However, they can continue to use the water for showering and hand washing, Thames Water said.

Tess Fayers, chief operating officer for the Thames Valley and Home Counties, said: “We are asking 616 Bramley properties not to drink their tap water following recent water sampling results.” The health and safety of our customers is our number one priority and we would like to reassure residents that this is a precautionary measure.”

“We are in the process of delivering letters and bottled water to affected properties.” We are also identifying locations to set up bottled water stations and will share this information with our customers as soon as possible.”

“We are already on site in the village proactively replacing sections of our pipes on Horsham Road to reduce the risk to our customers.”

A Waverley Borough Council spokesman said: “We are working closely with Thames Water and other agencies to try and mitigate the impact on residents and will support residents wherever possible.”

An Asda spokesman said: “We continue to work closely with Thames Water and other partners to address the issues we inherited following the acquisition of the Bramley PFS site. We recognize the impact this has had on the people of Bramley and share their frustrations.”

“We are committed to working with all parties to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”