THE COUNTY Council have joined Hyndburn in a legal challenge of North West Water's controversial pre-payment water system.

The scheme works by customers using a smart-card to pay for their water in advance - or be cut off after an emergency period.

Hyndburn Council agreed to join Birmingham City Council's legal challenge of the system - which claims NWW are breaking the Water Industry Act of 1991 - on the recommendation of the North West Local Government Forum Against Poverty.

County Council leader Louise Ellman said: "I am appalled North West Water will be effectively asking poor people to disconnect their water supply if they cannot pay in advance.

"These measures could result in widespread disconnections, raising the potential for public health hazards.

"It would also mean the company could avoid having to go to court before disconnecting customers and remove the requirement for full disconnection information being reported to the water watchdog OFWAT."

Hyndburn Councillor Bill Goldsmith, the borough's delegate to the poverty forum, agreed, saying: "No one can be expected to live without water. It is a vital commodity.

"If the householder does not have any money, he or she will be cut off."

County Councillor Frank McKenna, the county's welfare rights and anti-poverty sub-committee chairman, said: "In future even social services will not be able to intervene and stop discon-

nections.

"In fact, if this goes ahead, even local authorities need not be notified."

He added: "It is disgusting that these damaging and backward measures would actually further increase water bills. People are being asked to pay more for less."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.