Southern Water has carried out a £15 million project to replace pipes which run under the seabed of the Solent transferring drinking water from Hampshire to the Isle of Wight.

The project, which started in 2003, involved replacing the two ageing existing pipes which make up the Cross Solent Main with two new, larger pipes.

The new pipes were laid under the sea from barges floating in the Solent in a major engineering operation which completed the project.

The pipes run from Lepe, in Hampshire, to Gurnard, on the Isle of Wight, and will help secure water supplies for the island for future generations.

More water is needed for the island because people are using more, the population is growing and climate change is having an impact on the water resources available.