Scottish Water have been forced to apologise to home owners who live near a water pumping station in Largs regarding a NINE year problem.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman have agreed with nearby residents that the utility firm had not adequately dealt with issues of noise and vibrations at Buchanan Street pumping station dating back to 2006.

Scottish Water have vowed to rebuild customers’ trust in the company.

Chief Operating Officer Peter Farrer said “A number of steps” were being taken in relation to carrying out the recommendations put forward by the ombudsman.

He said: “We would like to offer our sincere apologies to these customers for the distress and inconvenience they have suffered as a result of this pumping station issue.

“The problems associated with this pumping station and its effects on a number of our customers in the area should have been identified and dealt with much earlier.” Scottish Water explained that the delay was the result of a number of complex and unusual issues.

He continued: “We are taking the lessons learned at this location into our wider investment programme to ensure a similar problem does not arise in the future “We would hope to start rebuilding the customer’s trust in us as we carry out monitoring and management of this pumping station in the future.”