VILLAGERS near Alresford are getting steamed up over Southern Water’s metering plans.

Residents in Bishop’s Sutton risked having their water supply cut off with no warning, said the parish council chairman. They has written a protest letter.

Aileen Miller said: “They are not giving any information at all. Someone could come home and have no water. Or have a washing cycle interrupted. It has been badly organised.

“I have heard the same thing is happening in Old Alresford,” added Mrs Miller.

Southern Water is installing 500,000 meters across the south east.

In a statement, it said: “We aim to give as much information as possible to customers before we fit the meters. This includes attaching posters to lampposts to say when we will be fitting the meters and hand delivering metering information packs.

“We also attempt to speak to every customer face-to-face by knocking on their door before we fit their meter.

“In the Bishop’s Sutton area, we delivered packs to our water supply customers on January 14, prior to installations. However, on this occasion it appears a handful of information packs were not received by customers.

“We apologise to those who did not get the opportunity to read the information before having their meter fitted. We will continue to liaise with the parish council to ensure all customers have the correct information.”