I had a letter from Southwest Water (SWW). Initially, I thought it was an early April Fool's, but it turns out it’s genuine. In short, they’re complaining about the work and timeliness of the county council.

I know we’re not perfect, but talk about brass neck, especially when they’ve just been found guilty of providing water not fit for human consumption. In my hometown, we have numerous problems related to the combined sewer system, where raw sewage and rainwater are mixed in the same system. Tankers are parked in our carparks to pump excess sewage that their infrastructure can’t deal with. Now with a collapsed culvert in town, it’s all the council’s fault. How very convenient.

Never mind the criminal activity of pumping raw sewage into our waterways. The lack of investment in infrastructure. Ever-increasing water rates, buoyant share prices and obscene executive pay. No, it’s all the council’s fault. The funny thing is, last time I checked, water rates were for a supply of clean water (cryptosporidium-free) and the disposal of sewage. All paid to SWW, not to the council, but now somehow, it’s the county’s responsibility. They must think we’re stupid. How about giving up this corporate bullying and instead apologising for such terrible service?

I know from colleagues that Kingsbridge isn’t the exception, it’s the norm. And all these issues are going to be compounded by the hundreds and thousands of new houses we are being forced to build. Waived through by SWW, happy to receive the extra water rates, but no equivalent improvement to infrastructure. Regulators and legislators are too timid or inept to confront this rampant corporate greed. We’re told things have changed, rules have been tightened. All I’ve seen is increased buck passing, less responsibility and no one being punished for criminal behaviour.

The water companies are just the tip of the iceberg. If you think of all the recent scandals, when was corporate Britain last held to account? Millions of pounds spent on enquiries that take years to complete. Inevitably, they find no one was to blame, but don’t worry, lessons have been learned. The only lesson seems to be that corporate Britain can do what it likes and get away with it. From the Post Office to Grenfell Tower, from dodgy PPE to tax avoidance, corporate Britain is laughing all the way to the bank. They’re taking us for a ride, and successive governments seem to have not cared at best or colluded at worst.