Beleaguered water company throws bottles into skip

Dozens of shrink-wrapped packs of bottled water have been thrown away by South East Water in Kent.

A Tonbridge resident said he was "disgusted" after he spotted a skip full of the multi-packs in Morley Road, saying the water could have been given to those in need.

South East Water (SEW) said the bottles had been collected from bottled water stations or returned by customers who no longer required them.

SEW's alternative water manager, Parris Durant, said it was unable to use the water bottles as it could not guarantee they had been stored correctly or not tampered with.

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said some bottles appeared to have been emptied on to the floor, but the majority in the skip were full.

"Surely this could have gone to the homeless or a charity," he said.

"My water bills will go up as they are throwing away money. Not only is it the water but the amount of plastic that is being disposed of."

Durant added: "All our bottled water supplies must comply with food safety standards."

South East Water is to raise prices by an average of 7% from April.

It comes after regulator Ofwat opened an investigation into South East Water in January after repeated water supply failures across Kent and Sussex.

Some 30,000 properties had no water at the height of the problems before Christmas.

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