The chief executive of South East Water, David Hinton, has resigned from his job after months of criticism of the firm’s failures in Tunbridge Wells.

South East Water said David Hinton (pictured below) had decided to step down but would remain in post “to allow an orderly transition over the summer period”.

The company said: “He feels his position has become an increasing distraction from South East Water’s most important priority, which is to deliver a resilient water supply for its customers.”

The announcement comes just seven days after the Chair of South East Water, Chris Train, resigned.

Jonathan Hawker (pictured below) who’s the Chair of the Tunbridge Wells residents group, Dry Wells Action said: “About time.”

Jonathan Hawker continued: “Dry Wells Action will continue to press SEW for investment in the infrastructure serving our town. Sadly, not enough progress has been made since the January outage. And communication from the company continues to be inadequate.”

Interim Chair of South East Water Lisa Clement said: “The board acknowledges and thanks Dave for his many years of loyal dedication and service to South East Water.”