“TOOTHLESS” water regulators sparked fury yesterday after approving unexpected bill hikes for millions of customers.

Ofwat allowed Thames Water, Severn Trent Water, Southern Water, Wessex Water and South East Water to raise bills from 2027 to 2030 to fund an extra £3.4 billion in spending.

This would be on top of planned bill increases of 36 per cent between 2025 and 2030 and following eye-watering rises in 2025 and another 5.4 per cent on average from April this year.

The Consumer Council for Water, which represents customers, said that Ofwat needs to show “every pound of this additional £3.4bn is necessary.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that customers “cannot be treated as a blank cheque.”

“I understand why people are angry — I am too,” he said.

“Our water industry has clearly not been working for people for far too long. That’s why this government will be looking at how we can give the public more control and help keep bills as low as possible.”

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle branded regulation of the water sector “toothless” and pledged to “fundamentally reform” it.

Ofwat will consult on the draft decision until September 24, with a final verdict due in December.

The extra charges would reportedly be aimed at helping upgrade networks to cope with new housing and data centres and tackling “forever chemicals” in drinking water.

Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water supplier with around 16 million customers, is on the brink of collapse.

It has a more than £20bn debt mountain with creditors looking to secure a rescue deal to stave off temporary nationalisation by the government.

GMB activist and former water worker Cliff Roney said: “Put simply, any bill hike from Thames Water would be an insult.

“Thames Water spills sewage and leaks millions of litres of water while its senior management enjoy golden handshakes and bonuses.

“Meanwhile, customers are yet again being asked to pick up the tab for this company’s many failures.

“The only way to stop the betrayal of consumers and water workers is to renationalise our water.”

Cat Hobbs, director at public ownership campaign group, We Own It, said: “If Andy Burnham is serious about taking on the rising costs of living, these proposed water bill increases must be blocked. Privatisation was supposed to bring about private investment. What this shows is that every penny of investment in our water infrastructure comes from our bills, not from investors.

“If water companies cannot invest without raising our bills, they should be allowed to go bust and then taken into public ownership. The public has had enough of the rising bills, service cuts, hosepipe bans and sewage dumping. It is time for water to be taken into public ownership like 90% of the world.”

South East Water is another in the line of fire after a series of supply interruptions that has left thousands of households, businesses and schools without water.