DOUBLE water bill cuts are in the pipeline for more than 250,000 households.

Bills will be reduced by an average of £30 a year for South East Water customers.

The Eastbourne-based company's area includes Mid Sussex, East Sussex, and Mid Kent.

The largest cut will be a 17.5 per cent reduction proposed by water watchdogs OFWAT.

And a smaller 0.5 per cent cut is expected as a result of re-organisation of the licensing of South East Water services.

Both cuts would come into effect from the year 2000.

Average domestic bills for South East Water customers are currently £158 a year.

South East Water services will be run under one licence instead of two from January 1, when the company will unveil its new name. It is currently owned by SAUR Water Services.

OFWAT director Ian Byatt said that as result of the change SAUR had agreed to reduce customers bills by a total of £580,000.

Money for the cuts would come from savings made by only having one firm holding the licence to run services.

South East Water spokeswoman Jane Fuller stressed that the final level of the largest reduction had not yet been decided.

She said: "At the moment it is about 17.5 per cent, but that is under discussion."

Under the licence the firm will be responsible for running water supplies in the Mid Sussex, Eastbourne, Mid Kent and also parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire.

At present the two licences are held by South East Water and Surrey-based Mid Southern Water.

As a temporary administrative measure the new single licence will be issued under the name of Mid Sussex Water.

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