LOCAL MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has called on the boss of South West Water (SWW) to resign after water industry regulator Ofwat opened another investigation into the company.

The water watchdog has launched an enforcement inquiry looking at the accuracy of statements the company made last November about its performance in reducing leaks and on customer consumption rates.

This is in addition to a separate Ofwat probe into how the company’s waste water treatment plants are being managed.

Mr Liddell-Grainger, who represents West Somerset and will be the Conservative candidate for the new Tiverton and Minehead constituency taking in much of the area around Wellington, said the latest Ofwat intervention marked another low point in South West Water’s existence.

He said: “It may well be that all will be found to be in order.

“But Ofwat does not launch inquiries of this nature lightly.”

Last month, Susan Davy, chief executive of Pennon Group, which owns SWW, announced she would not be taking her £450,000 bonus because of public anger over sewage pollution in rivers and seas.

But, Mr Liddell-Grainger said that did not go far enough.

“She should pack her bags and go,” he said.

“South West Water has been caring for its shareholders rather than its customers while senior staff have been pocketing obscenely inflated rewards for failing.

“The company has failed to increase storage capacity in line with the demands created by the growth in tourism and huge amounts of housebuilding, with the result that the region is chronically short of water and consumers are already having to restrict their usage even before the main holiday season has started.

“Meanwhile, it has been systematically polluting the local tourism industry’s greatest asset - the beaches of Devon and Cornwall.

“How much more failure do we have to put up with?”

If the Ofwat inquiry uncovers discrepancies in SWW’s reporting on leaks and consumption it could face a penalty equivalent to 10 per cent of its turnover.

If it is found to be in breach of waste water regulations it will be ordered to implement improvements and could also be fined, the cost in both cases falling on shareholders.

The latest Ofwat investigation comes ahead of Pennon announcing its full 2022-23 year financial results next week.

Ofwat chief executive David Black said the regulator would conduct a ‘thorough investigation’.

Mr Black said: “We are committed to holding companies to account for performance and for sharing timely, accurate, and complete data with us and their customers.

“We want to ensure that is the case here.”

A SWW spokesperson said it would ‘fully co-operate’ and work ‘openly and constructively’ with the Ofwat investigators.