Water bills in the South West are the country's highest

The firm's operating profit has risen by 8.2% to �84.2m.

New chief executive Chris Loughlin said profits had enabled the firm to improve drinking and beach water quality and reduce leakages.

But after a 9.8% increase in bills this year on top of inflation, pensioners say they need help paying.

There's a small percentage of people paying for 30% of the coastline to be cleaned Mary Lacey, Plymouth Senior Citizens Forum Tell us what you think about water bills

SWW's bills are the highest in the UK, partly because of the cost of keeping the coastal region's sea water clean.

Customers pay an average of �449 a year, compared with the national figure of �295.

Mr Loughlin said: "We are very conscious of the fact that our water bills create a high burden and put high pressure on those on low and fixed incomes."

He said as a privatised company it had to earn a return for investors, but 99p of every pound of profit was reinvested into the system.

"This investment has enabled us to get the highest ever cleanest beaches and highest quality drinking water, with no hose pipe bans and keeping leakages to absolute minimum."

He said the firm was looking at proposals to support people on low and fixed incomes and hoped to announce those measures in the near future.

Mary Lacey, of Plymouth Senior Citizens Forum who gathered to lobby the Consumer Council for Water on Thursday, said: "There's a small percentage of people paying for 30% of the coastline to be cleaned.

"Everyone else uses it in the summer. It's time we got some restitution to this."

Earlier this month, South West MPs met government minister Ian Pearson calling for an upper limit on the region's water bills.

The minister was said to be sympathetic to a range of ideas, including a special charge rate for those households on low incomes.