People wheelbarrowed hundreds of bottles of water to their elderly neighbours yesterday after a burst main cut off Chinnor's supply.

More than 5,000 bottles of water were rushed to the village yesterday morning in a preview of what could happen across the county if a drought order is implemented later this summer.

About 2,500 residents woke up to discover their taps were dry and both St Andrew's and Mill Lane primary schools had to close for the day.

The problems started when a Thames Water mains pipe at Kingston Hill, near Chinnor, which feeds Stokenchurch reservoir, burst at 11pm on Thursday.

Bottles of water delivered by the water company were gratefully received by residents keen for a morning wash.

Sue Collins, of Wykeham Rise, was one of a number of residents who then used wheelbarrows to take bottles to neighbours.

She said: "Some people were too elderly to get the water themselves, so a few of us went round dropping it off and I went round with a barrow.

"All the little children came out to help some of them were still in their pyjamas. It was really nice to see."

Vera Albrow, 84, said: "I'm blind and unable to get the water myself, so I was very grateful to my neighbours. They were fantastic."

John Robertson, who lives in Golden Hills, said: "It would have been good if something could have been said to everyone in the village, because there were a few people who didn't know what was going on and were quite worried. One woman I know tried to put her washing on."

The lack of water also had an effect on businesses, with the village hairdresser's having to close for the day.

Thames Water said it first received reports of a loss of pressure and supply late on Thursday.

The company said that engineers were at the scene by 2am and that supplies to all houses in the area were back to normal yesterday evening after water was diverted from another main.

A spokesman said: "I would very much apologise for the inconvenience.

"We share the villagers' frustrations at a lack of water, but we did manage to get everyone back on supply as soon as possible.

"We have a special needs database to ensure that water is distributed to frail and elderly, but we're reliant on information coming into us."

Thames Water has started work on a new 22-mile water main between Cleeve, near Goring, and Fyfield, near Oxford.

The £50m pipeline will allow 120m litres of water a day to be pumped into the system, enough to supply 240,000 homes.

The pipeline will join up with an existing main running from Farmoor reservoir, near Oxford.