Chartwell, the former home of Sir Winston Churchill and now owned by the National Trust, had to turn visitors away for around two hours today on what should have been one if its busiest days of the year.

The tourist attraction in Westerham had an interruption to its water supply at around 11am, causing managers to close the gates until 1.30pm when the supply was restored.

A spokesman said: "We are happy to announce we have now resumed service as normal. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused."