AN ELDERLY man who is paying nearly £200 a year for his water says he is being 'ripped off.' He says his bill more than doubled when he moved flats, even though his water consumption did not increase.

Stanley Cooper, 85, of Dillon Court, Bodicote, has asked Thames Water to fit a meter to his one-bedroomed apartment but has been told that it is not possible - because of difficult pipework.

He is angry because he claims that other, larger, flats in Dillon Court have meters and residents pay only £9 a month.

Mr Cooper moved to Dillon Court from The Hawthorns, Banbury, last May to be nearer his daughter.

He said: "At my previous flat I was on a meter, and was paying only £7 a month in water and waste charges.

"I was shocked when I moved here and saw my first water bill.

"I've been paying £23.21 a month, and in April it goes up to £24.53.

"I asked Thames Water to fit a meter, filled in their application form, and they sent a surveyor out who told me that the pipework into my flat made it impossible for a meter to be fitted.

"I wrote to the Citizens Advice Bureau who asked Thames Water to bill me on an assessed usage basis, but the water company replied that it was not their policy to individually assess consumption."

Mr Cooper said: "I don't have a washing machine because my daughter does the bulk of my washing. I've got a sink in the kitchen and a bath/shower and basin in the bathroom. I do not use a lot of water.

"I live on a pension, and the water bill is a massive payment for me, especially as I know I should be paying a lot less."

Ofwat, the water supply watchdog, said water companies were required to offer customers assessed charges, but Thames Water based its assessed charge on the average consumption of metered users in the region.