TO THOUSANDS of people across Oxfordshire, Farmoor is simply 'the little village by the reservoir'.

Yet today villagers may have found themselves looking out across the vast expanse and quoting Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, 'Water, water, everywhere, nay any drop to drink'.

For nearly an hour this afternoon, the entire village had its water supply cut off because of a single burst pipe.

Brian Walker, who discovered the major leak because it was under his back garden, explained: "When the snow melted, the water in our garden just didn't go down.

Oxford Mail:

Water, water, everywhere: not Mr Walker's back garden, but the actual Farmoor Reservoir

"We wondered why then found out it was coming out of our field."

He called Thames Water last night and today four engineers have been working hard to fix the fault.

Unfortunately that meant that cutting off the entire village's flow between 2pm and 3pm.

Mr Walker said: "I had a friend come round and say his sister was halfway through a shower when they cut it off.

"I have enjoyed the irony - in fact, we've been taking the mickey out of the Thames Water guys all day, but they've been good sports, and working very hard."