A FRUSTRATED couple are offering Thames Water £5 to find their phantom water meter.

The firm has told Jack and Sylvia Turner it has installed a meter but the couple say no work has taken place.

The Turners requested a meter be fitted in February so they could save some money.

Thames Water surveyors visited the property in Petten Grove, Orpington, in early May and decided the perfect location for the meter would be seven metres away from the house and two metres to the right of the front door in the footpath.

They even sprayed the spot blue so workmen would know where to dig.

When nobody arrived to carry out the work, Mrs Turner, 71, called Thames Water on five occasions to be told the work would take place "in the next couple of days".

Four weeks after the original visit Mrs Turner was surprised to receive a letter saying the meter had been fitted - even though no work has taken place.

Now the couple are offering Thames Water £5 from their pensions to find the phantom meter.

Mrs Turner said: "They send two blokes to do surveys and they have a girl at the end of a phone who says it has been fitted.

"I say if you can find it then I'll give you a fiver.

"They have said their workmen have already fitted it and this has been ongoing since May when they said this was done."

The retired auxilliary nurse added: "It is very frustrating. You think people ought to get these meters fitted and you think it is right you should conserve water."

A Thames Water worker was in Mrs Turner and her 76-year-old husband's street on August 9 and they thought he was there to fit their meter.

But he was only in the area to check there were no water leaks.

Mrs Turner claims the man confirmed there is no water meter installed for their home.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "The meter fitting will take place tomorrow. An apology has been made to the customer for the delay and they won't be charged for the period when we thought we had fitted the water meter."