Yorkshire Water staff have won praise for "very positive" treatment of an emergency which threatened supplies to 64,000 Bradford homes and firms.

The award came days after the firm was fined £119,000 for providing water unfit for human consumption in 1998.

A group from YW won the National Utility Award 'Team of the Year' title at a major ceremony in London.

The award came after an incident in January this year when Council contractors punctured a major trunk main at the city's Dudley Hill roundabout.

Thousands of homes faced the threat of discoloured supplies as water had to be "re-zoned" with the risk of stirring up sediment. YW advised householders in the areas involved not to use washing machines or dishwashers. It sent bottles and tankers of mineral water to schools, some firms and vulnerable customers, including people with disabilities.

The citation from the Drinking Inspectorate made public at the awards said: "The company responded very positively to the incident and took every step possible to minimise the risk of supplying discoloured water"

The award-winning team was formed especially to deal with what the firm called "one of the biggest operational emergencies ever experienced by Yorkshire Water."

The firm said it had worked "around the clock" to inform customers and keep disruption to a minimum at the busy roundabout.

A spokesman added: "The award has shown that lessons can be learned and YW, recently in the news for supplying discoloured water two years ago, has made significant improvements to its procedures, leading to this honour."