What a shower! Water fat cats to raise bills by 2%

WATER companies accused of incompetence and profiteering are to increase bills by an average of 2 per cent from April 1.

The average bill will rise by £8 a year to £415 – but this will vary widely depending on location, the size of the property and whether householders have a meter.

Bills will increase by 4 per cent at Yorkshire Water, pushing up the average by £16 a year to £401.

By contrast, there will be a fall of 2 per cent at South West Water, bringing its average annual bill down by £9 a year to £491. However, this remains the highest average bill in the country.

Privatised water firms have often been criticised for failing to deal with leaks and burst pipes. The amount of water lost to leaking pipes in England and Wales rose by 1.5 per cent in 2017-18 to a staggering 3.17 billion litres a day, according to the Consumer Council for Water.

Utility firms have also been accused of giving away billions of pounds to shareholders, mostly foreign banks and pension schemes, while taking on massive debts.