South West Water has been ordered to pay almost £300,000 by a court after admitting it supplied water "unfit for human consumption."

The incident happened in 2018, in north Devon, and has now resulted in a court appearance for the water company, which covers the whole of the south west, including Cornwall.

Court records for Plymouth District Magistrates' Court list the charge as being that between June 19, 2018 and August 21, 2018, at Bratton Fleming and Horedown, in North Devon, the company was the water undertaker whose system was used for supplying water to premises at supply zone ZE4 and ZE2, and the water was unfit for human consumption.

South West Water pleaded guilty to the charge when it came before magistrates on Tuesday this week, September 13.

The court fined the company £233,333 and ordered it to pay costs of just over £60,320. It must also pay a £170 surcharge to fund victim services.

It has until October 11 to complete the payment of £293,823.73

The company said the water had been safe to drink, but acknowledged it was "unpalatable" for customers and was "absolutely unacceptable."

A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We deeply apologise to our customers affected by this incident in 2018, which was caused by an algal bloom on the reservoir.

"We accept that unpalatable water, even when safe to drink, is absolutely unacceptable, and this was reflected in our guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.

"Since then, we have made a number of major investments of up to £1 million to the site to reduce the risks of such events occurring again.”

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