Police lines clogged by hosepipe snitches

POLICE have begged nosy neighbours to stop clogging up 999 phone lines by reporting breaches of a hosepipe ban that hasn’t even been implemented yet.

Devon and Cornwall Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Leaper says the force is drowning in snitching calls despite South West Water announcing that restrictions will only start on Tuesday.

‘The ban is not in yet,’ she said.

‘It’s coming in – but that’s not a policing issue – that’s the water company. People need to report it to South West Water if they want to do so.’

The ban, which will be the South West’s first in 26 years, comes as figures reveal that water firms have paid out £ 14.7million in bonuses to top executives.

That was up 18 per cent on the previous year, with the average water company executive now taking home an annual bonus of £670,000 despite the national scandal of sewage being pumped into rivers. Sewage has been discharged into seas at beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire, among other areas.

Britain’s sewer system becomes unable to cope when there is too much rainwater, so that sewage works become overwhelmed.

This is when water companies are permitted to release rainwater, and a smaller amount of untreated sewage, directly into rivers and the sea, to stop waste backing up in streets and homes.

The Liberal Democrats found water firm executives across Britain were paid £24.8million, including £14.7million in bonuses, benefits and incentives in 2021/2022.

Tim Farron, Lib Dem environment spokesman, said: ‘This is a national scandal. These disgusting polluting habits have made beaches unsafe in the middle of the summer holidays and harmed precious British wildlife. Hosepipe bans could have been avoided this summer if these CEOs bothered to invest in their rusting pipes rather than stuffing profits in their pockets.’

David Black, the boss of water regulator Ofwat, said: ‘I was very clear with company remuneration committees in March that performance-related pay for CEOs should be clearly linked to their performance for customers, the environment and society.

‘We are carrying out our own analysis and plan to report on whether we feel companies have clearly made this link.’

A spokesman for industry body Water UK said: ‘The bonuses of all water company executives are linked to performance and reflect customer and environmental outcomes. Private investment has brought more than £160billion into an industry that was previously starved of cash, while improving water company efficiency by over 70 per cent.’