More than 1,000 pipes have burst in just one week, with Thames Water struggling to cope with freezing temperatures and admitting it has been “devastating” Londoners lives.

London’s water provider has come under fire from residents for its response rate as leaks continue to emerge across the capital, with Thames Water forced to bring in extra staff to cope with the number of calls.

The company repaired more than 1,000 leaks last week, with 500 engineers and 160 repair crews sent out to tackle the problem.

Thames Water is currently undergoing repair works to major pipes in New Malden, after admitting that some are roughly 200 years old.

Bob Collington, managing director of the company’s water operations, said: “We’re dealing with the biggest and most disruptive leaks first.

“This involves working closely with local councils and Transport for London to ensure we carry out our repairs as soon as we have their permission and all safety measures, such as temporary traffic lights, are in place where needed.

“Please bear with us - we really are going as fast as we can.”

The increasing number of burst pipes – estimated to be about 40 per cent – has been put down to the consistently low temperatures recorded across London.

If the water’s temperature falls as low as 5 Celsius pipes are more likely to burst, Thames Water has said.

Thames Water has come under fire for its response to urgent leaks, with Jennette Arnold, deputy chair for London Assembly, criticising the company

At a environment committee meeting this week she said: “I share the anger and frustration the sense of being let down by Thames water.

“It seems to me, and I’m speaking on behalf of people I’ve talked to, that [the] maintenance programme is based on a ‘let if flood, let it burst’ and then we come in and replace that piece of pipe.”

Richard Aylard, director of external affairs and sustainability at Thames water, said: “The maintenance is obviously not good enough because we have been devastating our customer’s lives.

“We’ve got to do better at it. The question is how to spend money to get the biggest possible impact.

“We’ve had a series of devastating burst in short succession which have had an accumulating effect on our customers in the vicinity of the bursts.”

The company has advised residents that response times will be slower in the coming days and to report any leaks as soon as possible.