From Mob takes emergency water supplies during Banbury shortages.  This isn’t inevitable – even in the absence of disaster planning and preparation.  But the converse proposition – that good planning and stockpiling would make this much less likely – seems reasonable.

A water delivery driver in Oxfordshire was forced to abandon his supply of emergency bottles after he was threatened by a group of residents.

The incident took place on Sunday after two Thames Water pumps at the Bretch Hill Reservoir in Banbury failed.
About 4,000 homes were cut off for 24 hours.
The company responded by supplying 68,000 bottles of water to the area. It said some residents had behaved aggressively and prevented deliveries.

‘Tough situation’

A spokesman for Thames Water said it was disappointed by a “minority for their selfish behaviour”.
The contractor concerned was outnumbered by a group who verbally abused him and refused to allow him to take his delivery to another part of the estate – physically removing the bottles from his truck.
The spokesman added they were grateful to the majority of affected customers for their patience and understanding but the behaviour of a few residents had “made a tough situation more difficult for everyone”.
The William Morris School, in Bretch Hill, was closed to pupils as a result of the water shortage which was fixed by about 18:00 BST on Monday.