Thousands of people in Conwy remain without water this evening after Dwr Cymru issued an update and explained that it could now be up to 48 hours before water supplies are fully restored to homes and businesses.

The incident involves a burst water main at the Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works in Dolgarrog.

Up to 42,000 homes have lost water supplies, and five schools have been forced to close. Tankers have been taking water supplies to local hospitals and medical centres, with some council services and doctors surgeries suspended.

Effected businesses including restaurants, pubs and firms which needed to offer handwashing and sanitary facilities were told that they would have to remain shut to remain within the law.

In a statement issued just after 4pm, Dwr Cymru said:  "The repair to the burst water main at our Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works, Dolgarrog is taking longer than was planned.

"The burst water main is two and half metres beneath the riverbed and the volume of water in the river is making the repair exceptionally difficult.

"We have created a coffer dam to redirect the river and a trench box around the damaged pipe so that we can excavate and access the damaged water main whilst protecting our workforce and the environment.

"Once the burst water main has been repaired it could take up to 48 hours before water supplies are fully restored as the network refills - but some customers will regain before then as water fills the network.

"The Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works services one of the largest networks in Wales, supplying the Conwy Valley all the way to Llandudno and operates under very high pressure.

"The network includes service reservoirs that store water and mains that deliver the water to the customers. It will take time for the system to re-fill to a sufficient level to restore the supply to customers.

"This process can't be rushed as it could cause problems with water pressure, discolouration of water or further bursts.

"We are prioritising delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers on our Priority Services Register. This involves supporting 5,000 vulnerable customers in the affected areas.

"We intend to have bottled water stations in place tomorrow, but as there is currently a shortage in the bulk supplies of bottled water across the UK and we are sourcing bottled water from as far as Scotland. We're using current supplies to prioritise our vulnerable customers.

"Compensation arrangements will be put in place to those customers who have lost their supplies together with additional arrangements for business customers.

"Crews are currently on site working on the repair, rerouting water through the network and mobilising water tankers to maintain supply."

For updates on the situation, stay tuned to Bayside Radio - DAB+ Digital Radio, Online and Smart Speaker.