A WATER bill of more than £300 has been sent to Winsford Town Council for the Over Allotments - when the supply been turned off for three months.

Councillors expressed their concern at a town council meeting on Monday night and called for United Utilities' suppliers Water Plus to carry out an investigation.

Cllr Malcolm Gaskill said: "We're paying for water we didn't receive. The water has been turned off for the last three months.

"Allotment holders bring in their own water to make brews in the winter. Where is the water going? The meter must be faulty.

"For that amount of money my own house would take six months to use that amount of water."

A bill for £316.12 has been received for a period from December 2018 to March 2019.

Cllr David Edwards said: "Can we ensure that staff read the meter once a month. We need a reading from before the water was switched off until now."

Town clerk and finance officer Mark Bailey said checks had been made and concluded that there are no leaks.

He told councillors: "I was surprised to receive a bill of that size when the water was supposed to be turned off.

"This is an estimated bill. We need to get an accurate meter reading and get it sorted. We will reclaim any money that has been overpaid."

A spokesman for Water Plus said: “The bill the council received for Over Allotments was a regular bill and was an estimate based on previous water consumption. We have talked to the town clerk and finance officer and we’re issuing a revised lower bill after they provided a meter reading.

“We encourage customers to check their water meters regularly, if it’s safe to do so, and submit meter readings to us, either on our website or by contacting us by phone.

We have more information on our website to help our customers too at www.water-plus.co.uk .”