Kingston council is taking legal action against a tenant to prevent the risk of having to pay out water charge refunds.

The council is pursuing the case after the tenant reportedly complained he should get a refund for being overcharged on water, following a landmark case ruled against Southwark Council.

Southwark Council was ordered by the High Court in 2016 to pay back a total of £21m to 41,000 council tenants after they were overcharged for water.

It had been reselling water from Thames Water, acting as an agent, but had been charging more commission than permitted.

The ruling set a legal precedent and could have wider implications for London councils with similar arrangements with Thames Water.

A spokesperson for Kingston Council said: "The council collected water charges on behalf of Thames Water from its tenants until April 1, and at no point did the council act as a water reseller, or inflate charges."

In a tweet, The Surbiton Liberal Democrats wrote: "Yesterday, BBC London News aired a story about water charges in Kingston.

"Due to an ongoing court case, which started last year, we cannot comment further on the matter, at the risk of prejudicing the trial. We WILL investigate this matter, as we promised to earlier this year."