The Latest Breaking News from Thames Water

Estelle Mendoza, who is on end-of-life care, saw her direct debit rise from £33 to £215 a month

While it performed well in some areas in an overall assessment of performance it failed to meet targets on water compliance and interruption to supply

The Liverpool water supplier can now charge customers an additional £24.1 million

Proposal to make all water firms publicly listed is not a cure-all but would force them to be more transparent

Consumers face lower water costs from next April after water firms were told off by regulator Ofwat for missing its targets on things like pollution and sewer flooding

In total, 11 water companies were fined for failings in the last year.

Water regulator Ofwat said that the utility companies have been fined for missing targets in areas such as water supply interruptions.

Thames, Southern and nine other firms penalised after missing targets on pollution

"When it comes to delivering for their customers, too many water companies are falling short, and we are requiring them to return around £150 million to their customers."

Water bosses hoped a hosepipe ban would reduce water demand from 150 litres per person per day to 100, with most of England and Wales still considered in drought

Prolonged periods of intense heat affected large parts of the UK and Europe this summer. These conditions forced parts of the UK into an official drought, with restrictions on water use imposed for the first time since 2012. Despite recent autumnal weather, parts of the country remain firmly in drought.