Photo: Chris Stanley on West Beach, Whitstable
Water company prosecutes 82-year-old retired magistrate with health problems for bill payment protest
An 82-year-old Kent man struggling with ill health is being taken to court this month over refusal to pay his water bill. Chris Stanley, a retired magistrate, living in Whitstable, East Kent is being prosecuted by South East Water Ltd for withholding part of his bill because of excessive sewage discharges made by Southern Water. Wastewater, he says, is not treated ‘to adequate, nor even to legal, standards’.
Standing at his usual swimming spot on West Beach, Whitstable, Mr Stanley said: ‘I’m really outraged that Southern Water are taking me to court … they’re not doing anything about making sure the sewage is not in the water where I swim.’
The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 on 26 June 2025, at the Combined Court at Canterbury, Chaucer Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1ZA.
In October 2023, Mr Stanley suffered a medical emergency requiring advanced surgery at University College Hospital London. His wife, 69, has incurable cancer. Both have been encouraged by their doctors to swim. Mr Stanley claims this is ‘essential for the improvement and maintenance of our health and independence’, but they feel unable to do so because of the danger posed by sewage pollution. They used to swim frequently in the sea during the summer months, but now rarely risk it.
In a letter to the defendant, South East Water, who issue bills on behalf of Southern Water, refused to discuss the dispute as they are not responsible for sewage. In the same letter, they offered to reduce the defendant’s most recent bill but Mr Stanley declined the offer. Mr Stanley has offered ‘to pay half the outstanding bill and, in future, to pay bills at half their standard amount until Southern Water reduced local sewage discharges to much lower levels.’
Residents and protest groups in Whitstable have been battling with Southern Water for several years over what they see as unacceptable levels of sewage pollution and many are expected to attend the hearing and show their support for Mr Stanley.
‘I don’t want this hassle but I do believe this is all wrong and someone has to make a stand,’ he said.
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