Bedfordshire charity hit with £23,000 water bill

A leaking underground pipe began to impact the charity's water bills in February

An animal charity is blaming its water company for a water bill of more than £23,000 over a six month period.

The National Animal Welfare Trust Bedfordshire in Aspley Guise received the bill in August.

The centre said Wave Utilities failed to notify them of a spike in their water consumption in February, which was caused by an underground leak.

Wave Utilities said they were keen to work with the charity "to monitor and control their usage going forward".

They said they have also contacted the wholesaler, Anglian Water, to investigate what other support is available.

Repairs on the underground pipe cost the charity £4000

The charity's chief executive, Rob Mitchell, said: "Those high meter readings were allowed to run for a further six months until we received our invoice in August."

The Bedfordshire branch said they had discovered the leak themselves in June and spent £4,000 repairing it.

"We thought that's terrible, that's bad enough, but at least we fixed it," Mr Mitchell said.

Two months later they received a bill for £23,000. Mr Mitchell said that their usual six-month bill was about £500.

He added: "We've been left with a huge hole in our finances at a time when charities are facing increasing running costs across the board."

In a statement Wave Utilities said they have placed the charity's account on hold and "reassured them they won't be getting disconnected."

They added they will work with the charity to help monitor their usage in the future, adding: "In this case, the standard six-monthly read cycle in the non-household market is not working for them."