Water bills go up 5% from April

Households across the Midlands are facing higher water charges from April when the average bill will go up by about 5%.

Most people will pay an extra 4p per day. The yearly bill will increase from £267 to £283.

The new figures include inflation and were worked out using a formula approved by regulator Ofwat.

Severn Trent said the increase would help fund a continued stream of investment over the next three years.

"Customers tell us their top priority is the safety and reliability of their drinking-water supply, and we'll never put that at risk," said Severn Trent's director of customer relations Martin Kane.

"We must also maintain the quality of protection we provide for rivers and streams against the hundreds of millions of gallons of waste water produced daily from homes and business across the Midlands.

"Above all, the prices we charge need to ensure we can continue to invest in our water pipes, sewers, and water and sewage treatment works. Yet we'll keep prices amongst the lowest in the country."

Severn Trent is halfway through a five-year investment programme worth more than £2.3bn.