Water metering have meant big savings for Mr Fell

Christopher Fell, 79, a retired businessman who lives in Newport in Essex, has used a meter for about 20 years.

"The house I live in is really big - about 4,500 sq ft and has about eight bedrooms. When my wife was still alive and the children were still in the house, our water bills were enormous.

Then we learned it was possible to have a metered supply. I was pretty certain we weren't using a hell of a lot of water, so we got a meter. My water bills fell enormously."

Fairness

Meanwhile, Tony Hall, a 37-year old from Stafford who works for Royal Mail, believes the issue is about fairness.

He said: "Everybody should pay for what they use. It is not fair for a single person to pay as much as a family of five."

Mr Hall said that if the move prompted people to think more about their water use then that would be a good thing.

I was pretty certain we weren't using a hell of a lot of water Christopher Fell Send us your comments

He said: "People have got to be more environmentally minded. We have got to use less water.

"I have a water meter and my bill is half of what it used to be. People will save, especially the elderly."

Reservations

Tony Groves, a 59-year old postman from Wimbledon, south-west London, has some reservations over the scheme.

He said: "If water consumption drops quite dramatically, water companies will still want to make a profit. They are going to have to claw that back up."

Mr Groves said that he did not believe any initial water meter savings would be maintained.

He added: "It could also penalise families on low incomes. It could become a tax on the people who can least afford it.

"Those who can, will still have their power showers and all that sort of thing."

Wastage

Meter user Amit Shah, a 36-year old IT consultant from Wembley, north-west London, said: "Water meters restrict unnecessary usage.

"But there is a huge amount of wastage due to leaks and companies are not taking responsibility."

He added: "My bill has been affected. It has gone up �100. And then you have different companies with different rates."

John Humbach, of Folkestone, said he could not understand the "kerfuffle" over the use of water meters in the UK.

"I don't have one at the moment, but I used a water meter when I lived in Belgium, and it was absolutely no trouble at all when I had one."

The problem was that British water companies were charging too much for water - metered or not, Mr Humbach added.