UNITED Utilities has confirmed that the water in Bolton is safe to drink.

The water supplier posted the news on its website at about 8.30am today saying that "water quality is back to its normal high standards".

This ends a six-day ordeal which saw seven postcodes in the borough advised to boil water before consumption as a precaution against “bacteriological problems.”

A spokesman said: “Water samples taken by us over the last three days indicate that water quality is back to its normal high standards.  This means all customers can use their water as normal.

Once again we are very sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience and co-operation.”