Residents were left with a funny taste in their mouths after a water company pumped extra chlorine into their water supplies.

Hundreds of homes in Hastings and St Leonards were affected by the action, which was carried out by Southern Water after problems with algae at its Darwell Reservoir.

The problem was caused when a change in water temperature caused the water from the bottom of the reservoir to rise to the surface dragging algae with it, a phenomenon known as "turning over".

Staff at Southern Water added extra chlorine to the water before it was pumped into homes to kill the algae and make sure it was safe to drink.

Southern Water spokeswoman Jane Gould said: "We had to put in an extra dosage of chlorine to make sure none of the algae got through to drinking supplies.

"People in Hastings would have noticed a different taste to their water because it was more chlorinated than usual. It was not unsafe to drink, it just tasted different."

Despite this claim, staff at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, which is supplied by the Darwell Reservoir, were taking no chances and demanded an alternative supply of bottled water.

The Hastings and Rother NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, took delivery of four pallet-loads of bottled water to use until the water supply returned to normal about 12 hours later.