HAMPSHIRE'S leading water company has been ordered to clean up its act after receiving nearly 15,000 complaints from customers, a watchdog reveals.

Southern Water is named and shamed as the country's worst performing water company for grievances for the third year in a row.

A damning report released yesterday reveals the company recorded 14,327 complaints in 2014/15 - almost double the industry average.

This is despite 2,096 fewer complaints than in 2013/14 when there were16,423 grievances - a reduction of 13 per cent.

The revelation comes as watchdogs warn the gap between the industry's best and worst performers is still unacceptable despite a countrywide improvement in complaints for the seventh successive year.

The Written Customer Complaints report released by water watchdog CCWater shows an overall 13.4 per cent fall in written customer complaints in England and Wales over the period - down from 123,218 to 106,693.

Billing and charges accounted for almost 60 per cent of the total number of complaints in 2014/15.

Telephone calls made by customers to water companies to resolve problems have also continued to fall broadly in line with written complaints.

In December 2014 most water companies committed to reducing bills, before inflation, by 2020 after the organisation successfully pressed the industry to listen to their customers’ views on price and service.

But the watchdog ruled companies still need to work hard to convince more of their customers they are delivering value for money.

Tony Smith, chief executive for the Consumer Council for Water, said: "We expect the water industry to continually try and improve its services to customers and many water companies deserve credit for rising to that challenge year after year.

“However the gulf between the best and worst performers remains unacceptable.”

South East Water was the only water-only company to receive more complaints than the industry average, but CCWater is encouraged to see such a large reduction in 2014/15 which suggests that the company is beginning to turn a corner.

Wessex Water reported further reductions in complaints to cement their places as the industry’s best performers with 2,077 grievances, alongside Portsmouth Water with just 339.

Southern Water director Simon Oates said the company is "disappointed" with its progress in reducing complaints.

But he insisted improvements are being made adding: "We are determined to achieve better for our customers and as part of an ongoing drive to increase customer satisfaction.

"We have spent £13 million to upgrade to its billing system which will help customers to manage their accounts online. Once this system has bedded in, we expect that we will see complaint numbers start to fall.”