AS the nation bemoans rising fuel costs, spiralling utility bills and increasing mortgage payments, people living in one village are celebrating that rare event - a price decrease.
Nationally, customers have seen their water bills increase by almost six per cent this year.
However, villagers in Redmire, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, were delighted to see their annual charge for water fall by 20 per cent.
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For more than 100 years, the village has boasted a private water supply.
This year, the company that manages the supply has dropped its annual charge to villagers from £25 to £20 per person.
Phil Oliver, secretary of the Redmire Water Supply Fund Limited, said: "People couldn't believe at the annual meeting that we were asking them to reduce the amount."
The company took over the management of the supply from the parish council in 2000 and set about making improvements after it discovered that thousands of litres of water were escaping through leaky pipes every day.
The supply comes from Hargill Beck, which flows along the edge of the village. It is partly fed by an old tunnel built by lead miners to drain mines on the surrounding hillsides.
Engineers found that the village supply was being polluted from open vents in the tunnel.
The vents were covered and the tunnel cleaned, which meant more water could flow down the stream.
A pipe to the water tanks was also sunk into the stream bed.
The company is now in the process of replacing all mains and supply pipes in the village.
The improvements have meant the village's weekly usage has dropped from about 700,000 litres to 400,000 litres.
Mr Oliver said: "We've now reached the point where we've got security of supply, security of quality and our finances are in order, so we can now charge less. Weekly consumption is likely to go down again as we replace the rest of the pipes."
The price decrease has been welcomed by villagers.
Emma Robinson said: "Fuel bills, utility bills and the cost of oil to heat our home has increased, so it's nice that something has gone down for a change."
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