Water firm boss rejects bonus after leaving 1000’s of shoppers excessive and dry
David Hinton said he had decided not to accept an additional ‘performance payment’ this year – and instead will pocket only his £400,000 salary
David Hinton has turned down his bonus after customers suffered ‘unacceptable water outages’.(Image: © 2026 PA Media, All Rights Reserved)
The chief executive of South East Water has turned down his bonus after leaving thousands of homes without H2O for weeks. David Hinton said he had decided not to accept an additional ‘performance payment’ this year – and instead will pocket only his £400,000 salary.
He apologised ‘unreservedly’ to customers for the ‘unacceptable water outages’. Half of those affected in one town were now stockpiling bottled water in anticipation of future crises, MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs select committee heard.
Last November and December 24,000 homes in Tunbridge Wells were without water for up to two weeks. In January 30,000 more properties were hit in Kent and Sussex leaving customers unable to shower, bathe or flush loos.
While a fortnight ago 6,000 west Kent homes were without water for three days after a burst pipe. Hinton said: “We recognise the serious impact this has had on our customers and know that we fell short of what is expected of us.
“In recognition of this I have made the decision not to accept any bonus for the 2025/26 year.”
Hinton, whose bonus last year was £115,000, accepted a report by the Drinking Water Inspectorate that the outages were foreseeable.
He admitted he did not communicate quickly enough during the crises, telling MPs: “I got it wrong and that’s very much a lesson that we’ve learned into the playbook of how we handle future events.”
But he rejected suggestions South East Water was one of the worst performers in the sector, insisting it was a ‘good company with a really big interruptions problem’. Inquiry chairman Alistair Carmichael remarked: “The operation was a success but the patient died.”
South East Water chairman Chris Train told MPs the company accepted its performance had fallen short. “Failure is failure and we have failed,” he said.
An as-yet-unpublished survey suggests confidence in the company has plummeted with 54% of people affected by outages in Tunbridge Wells reporting they were stockpiling bottled water, MPs heard.
Dr Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said nearly a fifth were now exclusively drinking bottled water.
He said there were ‘serious cultural issues’ about treating customers ‘with respect’.
“We cannot afford to let this persist,” he added.
In January the company blamed bad weather for leaks in its ageing pipe system and warned customer bills must rise to fund ‘resilience’ work to prevent further shortages.
