A BOLTON businessman is fuming after being landed with a £1,000 bill for a few inches of pipe and a meter.

Stuart Lever said water firm North West Water had sent him the estimate to connect a converted flat to the mains water supply. But Mr Lever claims the work would take a water board engineer no more than half an hour.

He says it would involve nothing more than lifting a paving stone and installing an four or five inch pipe with a water meter.

Mr Lever, who runs the Sandwich Inn on Derby Street, fumed: "It's disgraceful. They think they can charge an exorbitant rate because you can't get your water from anyone else."

Mr Lever was landed with the £968.75 estimate after he asked the company to connect the flat above his sandwich shop.

It has cost £36,000 to convert the apartment as part of the 3-Ds regeneration of Derby, Daubhill and Deane.

But he was dumbfounded when NW Water asked for the huge sum. The bill includes an extra £458.90 for "infrastructure charges". In the bill given to him, the company explains the extra charge as "money invested in our water and waste treatment networks so that they can cope with the extra demand placed by new connections".

But Mr Lever, who is also a Tory councillor on Bolton Council, feels that the extra cost is unfair.

He added: "If this was any other company, charges in the infrastructure would come out of the profits. I would not charge new customers to pay for an extension to my sandwich shop if I suddenly had lots of extra customers."

His case has been taken up by MP Brian Iddon. Dr Iddon, Bolton South East, said: "I think these charges are pretty excessive. It makes no discrimination between a small business and a large house builder.

"I have spoken personally to one of the chiefs at North West Water." Water industry watchdog Ofwat has also promised to investigate the charges if Mr Lever gets in contact with them.

A spokesman for North West Water said: "The figures are correct. "Infrastructure charges, in this case £229.45 for water and £229.45 for sewerage, contribute towards the costs of up-sizing the network to cope with increased domestic demand."