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Last year water companies were given the go-ahead by Ofwat, the body that oversees the water industry, to invest billions of pounds in ten new reservoirs and two desalination plants as well as pipelines and other equipment to enable more water to be transferred between regions.

Pipebot Patrol is a £1.8m project led by Northumbrian Water and funded by the Ofwat Water Breakthrough Challenge.

The ban, which is backdated to April 2024, means regulator Ofwat can force firms to claw back bonuses that have been paid or face enforcement action.

Last month, Thames Water was fined £122.7m for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts, the largest ever fine issued by Ofwat.

She added Ofwat now expected the water company "to move at pace to correct the issues our investigation has identified".