Severn Trent Water has brought a successful prosecution against a Leicestershire company for illegally using its hydrants in the county.

Go Plant Ltd of Leicester Road, Ibstock has been fined thousands of pounds after being found guilty at Leicester Magistrates Court this week – the firm was ordered to pay £4,064, including costs.

The company had been caught several times using an illegal standpipe to take water from Severn Trent’s hydrants for their own purposes without permission or payment, activity that can lead to damage to the hydrants, loss of supply or discoloured water for customers.

Dan Littlewood, water fittings senior technician at the water company said:

“Illegal use of our hydrants is a real problem for us and so for our customers. Anyone who illegally uses a hydrant is only thinking of themselves and not of the potential effect on our customers – no-one wants discoloured water because a company decides that it’s above the law.  Also, why should these people be able to get water for free, when we all have to pay for it?

“While it is important that we prosecute companies who do break the law, we recognise the very considerable efforts that Go Plant have now made to ensure compliance and we hope that other companies will follow their lead.  They have now agreed to hire 85 standpipes from us so going forward there’ll hopefully be no more issues.”

Since the start of 2016, Severn Trent has successfully investigated more than 70 instances of illegal use of its hydrants – with many of the investigations leading to formal cautions or even criminal prosecutions.

The water company is now calling on customers to be its eyes and ears by keeping a lookout for unauthorised use that can lead to discoloured water for thousands of homes and businesses.

To make it easier to spot illegal use, Severn Trent has joined forces with Aquam Water Services to make sure that all authorised standpipes are painted bright green and feature the Severn Trent and Aquam logos.

In addition to the new standpipes, Severn Trent has also been fitting tens of thousands of new locking caps to the hydrants which can only be unlocked with special equipment. To date, more than 30,000 locking caps have been fitted across the network.