SOUTHERN Water has managed to reduce the number of complaints it receives from customers.

Last year the utility firm was named the worst performing water firm for the number of complaints it received in 2015/16.

The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) watchdog said it had now reduced the number of complaints by 53 per cent between October and December 2016

Sir Tony Redmond, CCWater chairman London and South East chairman, said: “We are pleased Southern Water does appear to be turning the tide and the action it has taken is beginning to make a marked difference.”

“The company still has ground to make up on the rest of the industry so the job is not done. We will be watching closely to ensure these improvements continue for the foreseeable future.”

In September The Argus revealed that the Worthing-based firm was receiving 43 complaints a day.

Meanwhile chief executive Matthew Wright earned a pay packet worth £715,600 a year as well as a bonus of more than a million pounds.

It had 15,000 complaints in 2017, more than double the national average, at the same time as profits rose 28 per cent to £119.9 million.