'Northern Ireland Water must answer for failure'

• A Northern Ireland Water employee (name not given) with bottled water supplied by the Scottish government in Belfast. Picture: PA

As a shipment of 160,000 litres of Scottish drinking water was distributed to households, Martin McGuinness said NIW would need to answer why pregnant mothers, families with young children and the elderly were left without water for days.

Although the situation is improving, NIW said it could be next week before some remote areas are fixed.

Mr McGuinness said: "There has to be accountability and we are not going to under those circumstances stand here and make excuses for a body that has so miserably failed our citizens."

First Minister Peter Robinson added: "There has to be an accountability for what has taken place and we don't think anybody could suggest NIW have covered themselves with any glory over the past days and people must assess their positions."

He added: "We are not satisfied with the performance and are absolutely determined that it will not be repeated."

He said if they did not others could assess them for them.

The ministerial executive met at Stormont today to discuss an emergency which has left reservoirs low and tens of thousands of homes without water as NIW rotates service to conserve supplies.

Meanwhile, it emerged that some households in a remote Scottish village have been without water for three weeks.

Scottish Water are currently checking their pipes to and from Leadhills in Lanarkshire to establish whether they are frozen.

Robert Campbell, who helps run the Hopetoun Arms Hotel in the village, said: "The community depends on people coming here but nobody came as there is no water. I hoped to have my family over, but I couldn't as my house in uninhabitable."

A Scottish Water spokesman said: "We are also keeping customers supplied with bottled water until the situation is resolved. Our immediate focus is to ensure that all our customers have their normal supplies restored as soon as possible."