WATER pressure for residents living in two blocks of flats has dropped dramatically since their homes were upgraded.

The people living in Blewbury House and Tilehurst Point tower blocks of Yarnton Way, Thamesmead, claim it now takes up to 40 minutes to run a bath and 15 minutes to fill a sink with hot water.

The two blocks were part of a £100m project to rebuild and upgrade the Tavy Bridge area of Thamesmead, the oldest part of the town.

But the residents claim the refurbishment has brought with a series of problems, the most annoying of which is the lack of hot water pressure.

Jason Carter, 54, who has lived in the block for 15 years, says there was no problem with the water before the works was done.

He claims, after a series of complaints, Gallions Housing Association, which owns the blocks, told residents Thames Water had put restrictors on the pipes because it was afraid of burst pipes.

But he claims he rang Thames Water himself and the company said it had not put any restrictors on the pipes and that Gallions was responsible for any internal water pipes.

Mr Carter, who is disabled and has short-term memory problems says the water now takes so long to run that he has often forgotten he turned the tap on.

The residents say, as part of the refurbishment, Gallions installed shower attachments to the bath taps and shower rails in the bathrooms, but there is not enough water pressure to run them.

Mr Carter said: “All we are asking for is the same hot water pressure as we had before the refurbishment.

“We are not asking for any extra luxury.”

He also visited neighbouring tower blocks in Kale Road to ask about their water pressure.

He said: “They did not appear to have any problem.”

The residents have now delivered a petition to Gallions, urging it to take action.

A spokesman for the housing association said on Monday: “"We are aware of some problems with the water pressure at Tilehurst and Blewbury House.

“Today we received new information from a group of residents in Blewbury House which seem to indicate that the problems are much more widespread than we first thought.

“As a result, we'll be conducting a thorough investigation to determine the cause and possible solutions.

He added: “We can also confirm that no water flow restriction devices have been installed on the premises or individual flats.

“We have, however, installed anti-scald blending valves as a health and safety measure, together with new aerated taps".