SEVERN Trent has successfully prosecuted a Redditch company for illegal hydrant use.
Kelly Plant Hire Ltd of Astwood Lane pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay £1,550, including costs, at Nuneaton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, November 7.
The company received a warning for illegal hydrant use earlier this year but was caught again in Warwick and prosecuted.
Dan Littlewood, from Severn Trent, said: “We take illegal hydrant use really seriously, as it’s just not fair to our customers to have their water affected because some people believe they’re above the law.
“We don’t want our customer’s to have murky or no water at all, as it’s important that water is always there when they need it, whether it’s for cooking, cleaning or just having a cup of tea.
“The fire service also rely on water and the use of our hydrants, so if in an emergency they cannot use the hydrant because it’s broken – then it can have very serious consequences.”
Since the start of 2016 Severn Trent has successfully prosecuted 35 companies and written more than 100 warning letters to firms that have been caught illegally using hydrants.
“To make it easier to spot those using our hydrants illegally, we’ve teamed up with Aquam Water Services,” said Dan.
“This now means all our authorised standpipes are painted bright green and feature the Severn Trent and Aquam logos. So, if anyone sees our hydrants being used by someone using anything other than a bright green standpipe, please let us know.”
Severn Trent has also been busy fitting tens of thousands of new locking caps to hydrants which can only be unlocked with special equipment.
To date, more than 30,000 have been fitted across the network.
