As many as 12,000 people remain without water after Storm Ciaran caused problems at a treatment plant in Surrey, a council leader has said.

Thames Water has apologised for the problems in areas including Guildford and Godalming, saying that the storm had created issues at the Shalford water treatment works.

Thames Water is “making preparations” to re-open its two bottled water stations, after Storm Ciaran caused issues at Shalford Water Treatment Works.

The sites are at Artington Park and Ride, Old Portsmouth Rd in Guildford, and Crown Court Car Park, in Godalming.

Engineers have made improvements at Shalford, according to the Thames Water website.

However, supplies are likely to return only gradually over the course of today (Monday).

Thames Water has issued an apology to those affected by these issues in postcodes: GU2, GU3, GU5, GU6, GU7 and GU8.

Although the situation is improving, Thames Water is refilling underground reservoirs which have run “very low”.

“We’re continuing to operate a fleet of tankers, pumping water into the local supply network”, a spokesperson added.

Waverley Borough Council leader Paul Follows has scriticised the firm for lack of communication.

He told BBC Breakfast: “Water infrastructure in this country is clearly crumbling.

“I have certainly got questions for the county for not declaring a major incident much earlier, and I will certainly have questions for our MP about the state of water infrastructure in the local area because it is clearly failing.

“People have been quite upset… we’ve had almost no communications from Thames Water right from the start, so just actually trying to get basic information about what the problem is, how they’re resolving it and when it will be resolved, that has actually been the challenge.”

Surrey County Council (SCC) declared a major incident on Sunday.

It said staff were dealing with incidents involving reports of no water or low pressure while Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said on Sunday that Thames Water had told him that at least 13,500 homes had been affected on Sunday afternoon.