A PLANT hire company has been ordered to pay £7,500 after illegally tapping into Thames Water hydrants in London and Berkshire for the second time in two years.
Quattro Plant Ltd was prosecuted by Thames Water after the company caught workers using illegal standpipes to take water from hydrants in Winnersh and Croydon in May and October last year.
Appearing at Reading Magistrates Court on March 19, director Adam Richardson pleaded to offences under the Water Industry Act 1991 and the Water Supply and Fitting Regulations 1999.
The company, which was fined more than £8,000 in 2019 for seven similar offences, was ordered to pay £7,502.
Claire Rumens, Thames Water’s illegal connections manager, said: “We work hard around the clock to cut leakage from our network and ask our customers to use water wisely, so it is not fair for others to take water without paying.