Surrey Village Pub is suffering from the water pollution crisis

A pub owner in Bramley, a village near Guildford in Surrey, claims his business is suffering from a water pollution problem that has prompted a ‘do not drink’ notice.

Hundreds of residents have been advised not to use their tap water due to concerns surrounding a historic fuel leak from the village’s gas station.

Thames Water issued a precautionary ‘do not drink’ notice to 616 homes on Thursday after elevated levels of hydrocarbons were detected during water sampling. Chris Hardstone, landlord of the Cheerful farmerhas spoken out on the issue, which he says has been going on since 2021.

Hardstone, who runs the pub with his brother Steve, said: “In 2021 our basement just smelled of fumes – and this petrol smell wafted into the bar.” Although concerns were raised, it took a long time for the problem to be properly addressed. Initially wrongly attributed to mold, the true cause was eventually identified as a fuel leak at the local gas station.

The contamination has forced the Jolly Farmer to close its accommodation area, resulting in significant business losses. “These issues forced us to close our accommodation department, causing us to lose revenue there,” Hardstone explains.

Thames Water is responding by delivering letters and bottled water to affected properties and setting up bottled water stations. Tess Fayers, operations director for the Thames Valley and Home Counties, assured residents that the ‘do not drink’ notice is a precautionary measure and that they are working to reduce the risks by replacing parts of the pipes on Horsham Road.

Waverley Borough Council is working with Thames Water and other agencies to support residents.

An Asda spokesperson 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 residents of Bramley and share their frustrations.”

“We are doing everything we can to work with all parties to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, MP for the area, has called the situation ‘unacceptable’ and has written to Chris Walker, MD of Asda Express, expressing his concerns and asking the supermarket chain to support the small, independent shops and pubs that suffer major damage to their stores. daily trading.