Inspections on water companies will quadruple over the next year in a bid to crack down on pollution by firms, the Government has announced.

The measures to increase checks include up to 500 additional Environment Agency staff for inspections, enforcements and stronger regulation over the next three years.

Increased inspections and enforcement by the environmental regulator will be backed by around £55 million each year funded by the Environment Department (Defra) and from proposed charges levied on water companies.

Officials said the Environment Agency had already ramped up inspections on water companies’ infrastructure, with 930 completed so far this financial year.