WATCHDOGS have welcomed figures which show the number of householders whose water is cut off by privatised companies has fallen for the sixth year in a row.

Water watchdog Ofwat said figures show Thames Water and Three Valleys Water have improved contact with customers who are behind with payments.

The figures for Three Valleys Water area, which includes Chesham and Amersham, show disconnections have fallen from 314 in 1996-97 to 101 from April 1, 1997 to March 31 this year, a fall of 67.83 per cent.

Figures show that disconnections in the Thames Water area, which includes High Wycombe, have fallen from 213 in 1996-97 to 209 in the period from April 1, 1997 to March 31 this year, a fall of 1.88 per cent.

Thames Water cut off 1,195 householders in 1993-94 and 621 were cut off by Three Valleys Water in the same year.

Ian Byatt, Director General of Water Services at Ofwat, said: "Water companies are improving their efforts to differentiate between customers unable to pay and those unwilling to pay their water and sewerage charges. Disconnection is a valuable final sanction which ensures that non-payers are not subsidised by customers who pay their bills."

A Three Valleys Water spokesman said: "We've made the reduction in disconnections because we can now identify the problems people have with payment before having to cut them off."

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