Newbury residents attend Thames Water bailout protest at Royal Courts of Justice

Newbury locals voiced their concerns at protests against further loans for Thames Water, writes Sophia Gilks.

On Monday, a small group of Newbury residents were part of the demonstrations protesting Thames Water’s bailout request outside the Royal Courts of Justice.

They joined around 120 protesters voicing concerns over the £3bn bailout deal to save Thames Water from financial collapse being discussed in the High Court.

Jan and Richard Stephens, from Newbury, expressed their disapproval of the deal.

They appeared holding a giant cheque among a sea of placards highlighting how the move would mean household water bills increasing by an estimated £250 a year.

“Every penny going into Thames Water now is simply additional charges to the cost of our water bills,” they said.

With local problems with Thames Water including recurring issues with raw sewage flooding in the winter in Stanford Dingley, the Newbury protesters were keen to demonstrate their reluctance to pump even more money into the water company.