COMPENSATION for water customers left high and dry by profiteering companies will be doubled under new government proposals.

The proposals come after incidents in which tens of thousands of customers have been left without supplies thanks to burst mains and other incidents, leaving them cut off and reliant on bottled water, sometimes for days.

In early May, 32,000 customers in East Sussex were without water for five days due to a Southern Water mains burst, with Hastings among the communities affected.