The leader of West Lothian Council has called on Scottish Water to compensate residents who were affected by flooding twice in less than a week.

John McGinty said immediate action was needed to protect householders in the Wester Inch area of Bathgate.

A burst main flooded 17 homes on Meikle Inch Lane on Wednesday. The 27-inch water main failed again late on Saturday night, causing further flooding. A total of 20 homes have been damaged by the water.

Mr McGinty said: "It is completely unacceptable that this pipe has burst in the same area twice in a week.

"Scottish Water must take immediate action to resolve this matter and protect the families who live in Wester Inch.

"Following the flooding on Wednesday I wrote to the chief executive of Scottish Water to express our concern about the flooding.

"It is vital that arrangements are made to compensate everyone involved in full for the damage and also for the distress which has been caused.

"Scottish Water must also make sure that residents in Wester Inch are not disadvantaged in anyway in the future because of this pipe."

Mr McGinty added: "The council's emergency standby team were called in to support the emergency services and provide help for residents.

"The team returned early on Sunday morning to clean up the roads and streets again.

"Simpson Primary School was open until 2am as an emergency centre for the people who were affected and the council's roads team also gritted the area when the water receded."

At a public meeting on Sunday, the chief operating officer of Scottish Water told 200 concerned residents that the pipe, which normally supplies water to 25,000 properties, was not fit for purpose. He insisted engineers would find a long-term solution.

Mark McEwen, Scottish Water’s customer service general manager, said he apologised unreservedly for both incidents.

He said his engineers continued to assist customers and were making "substantial progress" with the clean-up of customers’ properties.

Mr McEwan said: "A full investigation is being carried out to establish the cause of these bursts.

"We are committed to fixing this issue permanently to ensure no further reoccurrence and have a team establishing options.

"We held a public meeting with local residents and will continue to keep customers updated and in the meantime are continuing to support all those affected.

"We are remaining on site around the clock and will do so until all works are completed.

"We have made substantial progress with the clean-up of properties and the area affected and are working with the customers’ insurance companies to ensure customers are supported in addressing the impact this flooding has had on them and their properties."