By Joe Lockyer

Severn Trent has promised to support customers having difficulties paying their water bills ahead of an expected increase in average charges by almost 50 per cent.

According to industry regulator Ofwat, the yearly bill for Severn Trent Water customers will rise by an average of 47 per cent over the next five years.

This means the average annual bill is expected to rise from £398 in 2024-25 to £583 by 2030.

This equates to a rise of around £15 per month, and is the second-highest increase of the 11 water and wastewater companies across both England and Wales.

Severn Trent is the water company covering the East Midlands, including Ashby and North West Leicestershire.

In an interview with Notts TV, the water company's community and relationship manager, Mark Grice, said support would be offered to hundreds of thousands of customers struggling to afford their bills.

Mr Grice said: "We recognise winter can be a difficult time for customers affording to pay bills, but the message is we don't want anyone to struggle paying their water bill.

"We recognise any increase for bills for water is difficult for some people to manage. What we want to do is provide support for those who need it most which is why we have launched an industry-leading support package that is worth £575m.

"If I look back over the last five-year regulatory period, which is coming to an end, from 2020 to 2025 we have gone through the Covid pandemic, then we've had the cost of living, so we've seen a massive increase in customers who are reaching out to us for support with their water bill.

"We would encourage anyone who may be struggling to contact us because hopefully there would be some support available to them."

Mr Grice said Severn Trent offers support through its 'Big Difference' scheme.

It is currently supporting 250,000 customers on low incomes, with the number expected to rise to a total 700,000 customers over the next five years.

Through the scheme customers are able to get between 30 and 70 per cent off their bills.

Customers with a total household income of £22,000 or less may apply, Mr Grice added.

In December the utilities firm announced its £15bn investment plan, including more than £2bn on improving river health by preventing spills from storm overflows.

Severn Trent said it represented an investment of more than £3,000 for every household during the next five years.

Its chief executive, Liv Garfield, has received almost £13m in performance-related pay, bonuses and shares over the last four years, including her recent £3.2m pay packet.

She defended her pay during a BBC Today programme interview last year, despite sewage spills surging by more than a third to 60,000 incidents in 2023.