A pub affected by the water outage caused by a mains burst at the Dousland Water Treatment Works has hit out at the compensation payments offered by South West Water.

The Who’d Have Thought It Inn in Milton Combe sits in the very centre of the water outage area and lost its busiest day of business on Easter Monday as the local Easter Duck Race was cancelled.

Contacted by the Tavistock Times Gazette, the owner and manager of the inn Matt Smith was completely unaware of any compensation payments, and even more incredulous at the levels of compensation promised to businesses hit by the water loss.

He said: “I’ll be honest with you, £500 is ridiculous. It’s not even going to make a dent into what we need the money for. It’s pretty spineless to just credit accounts without any ‘is this acceptable’ conversations. When you’re relying on days like Monday, £500 doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid.”

The disappointed publican of the 16th century inn which also hosts B&B in the village, said it was the second time the business has seen its water cut off and business disrupted; the last time was November 2024 and they received no compensation and no communication from the water provider despite numerous attempts.

He described the support from them as “chasing shadows until you give up”.

“Pubs have been struggling for the last four to five years, and days like the Easter Bank Holiday are important. I’d like recouping for what we’ve lost and what we ordered in stock-wise, and for missing the busiest bank holiday of the year,” he said.

“I’ve lost £500 to bed and breakfast bookings alone without even opening the doors. What is the use of £500 to a business? It doesn’t do anything.

“It’s not making any dent into what you need the money for. We ordered stock and the money is not in the till. Our suppliers need paying. We need to find the missing £4,000 to pay people.

“If you speak to 75 per cent of people, if there was another option, they would change from South West Water.” he added.

A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We have set up a dedicated helpline for any businesses who have been impacted by the burst so we can discuss their individual circumstances with them.

“The number is 03332 343 293 and the lines are open from Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm.”

South West Water have already started issuing compensation payments to domestic accounts after the recent interruption to services following the burst at the Dousland Water Treatment Works.

Compensation for domestic households will be paid automatically into the customer’s account and has already started to be processed.

According to the South West Water website, customers will automatically receive a £50 payment per 12 hours without service, and £50 for each subsequent 12-hour period.

The total payment to household customers is £250 which South West Water says is “over and above the current statutory amounts of £20 per 12 hours, and £10 per subsequent 24-hour period”.