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BBC
David Hinton will remain in post during a transition period
The chief executive of a water company which was heavily criticised after severe supply issues caused misery for tens of thousands of people over winter has resigned.
South East Water said David Hinton had decided to step down but would remain in post "to allow an orderly transition over the summer period".
"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 company said.
Interim chair Lisa Clement said: "The board acknowledges and thanks Dave for his many years of loyal dedication and service to South East Water."
The BBC has been told Hinton will not be talking to the media on Friday and the decision he would resign was taken the day before the announcement.
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Tens of thousands of properties were left without water in January
Mike Martin, the MP for Tunbridge Wells, said: "From South East Water's point of view it's a good day to bury bad news with the results of the local elections.
"It's good that Dave Hinton has done the right thing and resigned."
Martin told BBC Radio Kent it was "extremely important that we get new leadership in place". He also said he wanted the next chair and chief executive to be outside hires.
East Grinstead and Uckfield MP Mims Davies called for a quick handover and a "feeling of change ASAP".
"These are beleaguered customers and fed up businesses, and they're all worried about what may come later this spring and into the summer," she told BBC Radio Sussex.
"It's always difficult when someone has to take the rap and step down but in my view there was a fundamental lack of confidence that my constituents had in him."
Alistair Carmichael MP, who chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said the resignation was "obviously the right thing for him to have done" but added: "I don't think that South East Water is yet off the watchlist."
"This is a company that as far as I can see hasn't started yet the necessary process of turning things around," he said.
The committee's highly critical report, published on 1 May, accused the water company of poor leadership, weak governance and a culture where nobody was held accountable.
Most of Tunbridge Wells and some surrounding areas experienced low pressure or no tap water at all between 29 November and 4 December.
Part of the town was affected again in January - along with areas such as East Grinstead, Maidstone, and Canterbury – and the company blamed this outage on Storm Goretti and cold weather.
Murat Askin, who owns a cafe and a bar in Tunbridge Wells, said that during the outages people were "left without basic essentials for days", which was "simply unacceptable".
"I'm very happy to hear David Hinton has finally resigned," he said. "This sends a message that residents now want action, not just apologies."
Tunbridge Wells butcher Richard Hards said it was "about time people take responsibility".
He said he had to shut for about a week in November and lost thousands of pounds in revenue.
