Frustrated residents refusing to pay their Southern Water bills in protest at sewage releases off the Kent coast have been offered hefty discounts by the firm - sparking calls for all customers to have their payments slashed.

Many householders - including Faversham rocker Bob Geldof - have withheld money owed to the under-fire company, citing its regular dumping of waste water into the county's seas.

In response, Southern Water threatened “further action" to recover the unpaid cash, warning those refusing to cough up that they faced "collections activity".

But now, in a surprise move that could have wider implications for all bill payers, it has offered discounts of up to 100% to those standing firm.

Among them is Canterbury city councillor Ashley Clark, who has had the £158 he owes slashed in half.

He believes offering the same discount to people in his home town of Whitstable "would be reasonable", as its seas have been left off-limits many times because of the sewage releases.

"I think you have to have an equitable and just solution," he said.

"My argument is the discount should be pro-rata according to the area which is affected, and to what degree.

"It affects some residents more than others - clearly those who use the water.

"If you have a water company that is treating things properly and has only had say one incident in a year, then that wouldn’t be fair.

"I wouldn’t want to see a responsible company penalised if they are acting correctly, but that does not appear to be the case across the entire country."

Meanwhile, a Walmer resident says she has been offered a 100% discount on her bill.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "I don’t know why I’m singled out - as far as I know, I’m the only person who has been offered a 100% discount.

"I don’t think I will accept it unless it’s offered to other people. I was so shocked and I thought it was probably something they were offering people who were boycotting.

"I was offered a 50% discount some time ago and so were a lot of other people. I’m not really part of anyone’s campaign - I did this independently."

Fellow Whitstable resident Julie Wassmer also refused to pay the waste water part of her bill, and has now demanded discounts be offered to all Southern Water customers.

"This clearly has huge implications for the rest of us engaged in this boycott, which has been staged as a protest against Southern Water demanding full payment for waste water services and treatment when there has been so much sewage-dumping by the company," she said.

"Now that the company has given a 50% discount on the original demand to one boycotter, and offered concession to to another resident in Kent, then clearly the company must offer the same concession to the remaining boycotters.

"If they agree to that, then in the interests of fairness, all Southern Water's customers must expect the same.

"In turn, this must have implications for other water companies in the UK who have been sewage-dumping in our seas and waterways."

Southern Water was hit with a record £90 million fine last July after unleashing up to 21 billion litres of sewage into protected waters between 2010 and 2015.

And it continues to face criticism over permitted releases off the Kent coast during periods of heavy rainfall, some of which have sparked warnings to bathers to avoid swimming in the sea.

Earlier this year, one of Kent’s biggest shellfish operators told how people have “lost confidence” in Whitstable produce, with customers snubbing its world-famous oysters amid the ongoing sewage scandal engulfing the county's coastline.

Graham West, who heads West Whelks in the town’s harbour, believes 150 years of heritage “has gone out of the window in one hit”.

He blames his struggle to sell Whitstable shellfish on the saga surrounding Southern Water dumping waste water into the sea.

Meanwhile, Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company bosses said the town's world-famous shellfish industry can weather the storm of the Southern Water sewage scandal.

In November, Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof let rip at Southern Water last year during a rare on-stage appearance in his home town of Faversham.

Donna Howden, head of customer service at Southern Water, said: "We support customers who are going through tough times, including payment holidays, special tariffs, debt write-offs, bill reductions and grants for household items.

"We also offer support and extra care help for those living with long-term illness, disability, the elderly and even new parents or parents with young children.

"Southern Water currently provides over 126,000 customers with some form of financial assistance, an increase of 21,000 since the start of the pandemic. Last year we provided over £12.5 million worth of support.

"This approach prevents customers from entering bill collection cycles and damage to their credit ratings which would only make things worse for a struggling family.

"Ultimately, it is the bills customers pay which enable us not only to carry on providing water at the turn of a tap and taking wastewater away but to invest to protect the environment and boost local economies.

"Between 2020 and 2025 we’re putting £2 billion in to our networks and equipment – helped by a contribution of fresh capital from a new majority shareholder but to sustain the investments needed to cope with a growing population and aging assets, we need to charge in line with Ofwat’s determination.

"In the coming year the average bill will actual fall in actual as well as real terms despite greater investment.

"We cannot comment on the individual circumstances of any customer."