Two water companies have been criticised after a rise in complaints from customers.

The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has called on Affinity Water and Southern Water to improve their services after a rise in complaints a report published today revealed.

Affinity Water reported one of the biggest rises in complaints across the water industry - up 82.3 per cent - leaving it bottom of the pile of water companies after three successive years of increases.

Affinity Water covers most of Hertfordshire including Watford, Bushey, St Albans and Borehamwood.

CCWater revealed that Southern Water was the industry's worst performer for the fourth successive year after a rise of more than 10 per cent in written customer complaints in 2015/2016.

They were among ten water companies to see a rise despite a 0.5 per cent overall reduction in written complaints across England and Wales - down from 106,693 to 106,196.

Sir Tony Redmond, London and South East chairman of the consumer council for water said: "We are disappointed by the performance of Southern and Affinity who have both failed to completely get to grips with the problems that have caused them to be among the worst performers.

"I have written to both companies and asked them to report back to me by the end of October on what action they have taken or are planning to take to reduce complaints. We want to see that progress is being made."

CCWater’s report shows that Southern Water failed to close the gap on the rest of the industry in 2015/16, with complaints more than twice the industry average.

The water watchdog was encouraged to see South East Water report the biggest reduction in complaints – down more than 38 per cent – to significantly improve its standing in the industry.

Thames Water also reported one of the largest reductions in complaints – down nearly 23 per cent during 2015/16.