Don't take baths, says water chief

While other heads of privatised utility companies have been accused of greediness and moral turpitude, the chief executive of Yorkshire Water may soon be accused of something a little more tangible.

Urging customers yesterday to avoid taking baths or showers in an effort to save water, Trevor Newton confessed that he had "not had a bath or shower in three months".

"Avoid using a bath or a shower," Mr Newton said at a press conference. "If people do this, it will have a substantial impact on demand and that, together with whatever rainfall we get, could help us to defer the day we have to introduce cuts." He then revealed his own dedication to the cause.

Questioned afterwards about the veracity of the chief executive's comments, a company spokesman insisted Mr Newton "was not joking".

And his devotion to water saving appeared to extend to the one person who might reasonably be expected to object. Mr Newton's wife, Christine, a schoolteacher, later confirmed her husband's claim: "Neither of us have been bathing or showering at home for months. We have not really noticed the difference. But in recent weeks he has spent so much time away from home anyway."

Professor Norman Noah, of King's College School of Medicine, said there was little chance of creating a public health crisis by not having a bath. "Fungal diseases of the skin are not necessarily caused by dirt. It may not be a very sociable thing to do but scabies, lice and the other nasties are not prevented by washing. The key is to sponge underneath the arms, the crotch area and the feet, while of course keeping the hands clean."

Professor Noah added: "A shower in the morning is more of a psychological boost than a medical necessity."

Penny Ward, spokeswoman for the consumer group Yorkshire Waterwatch, was less impressed: "Everybody is abso- lutely appalled. This has serious health implications, and people could also be laid off because of it."