A WATER company is thanking its customers for helping it beat a watchdog’s “tough” leakage targets.

Hatfield-based Veolia Water Central passed with a saving of 182 Ml/d (megalitres a day), against the 185 Ml/d target set by watchdog Ofwat.

And bosses at the Tamblin Way firm said it was all down to support from customers, as it tackled a massive surge in burst pipes, due to the harsh winter.

Managing director Richard Bienfait said: “We cannot thank people enough for supporting our leakage teams in so many ways, from calling in reports of leaks so we could fix them as soon as possible, to bearing with us when we’ve had to dig up the road to get repairs done.”

“It’s been one of the toughest years ever, especially during the winter months when the number of burst mains tripled.”

He added: “The personal dedication of our community-based teams has been incredible and resulted in a massive reduction in leakage since the beginning of January of more than 80 million litres of water per day.”