Household water bills to rise 3.5%

Average household water bills in England and Wales are set to increase by 3.5% over the next year, regulator Ofwat has said.

Households will pay an average of £388 from April 2013 to March 2014, a rise 0.5% above the rate of inflation.

Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said that she understood that households were facing financial pressures.

But she said that the increase was not as high as the water companies had wanted.