内容摘要：He added that continued significant rainfall is required to return water levels to normal, and the rain forecast for next week isn't expected to be enough.

He added that continued significant rainfall is required to return water levels to normal, and the rain forecast for next week isn't expected to be enough.

The number of households seeking help with water bills in England and Wales rose by more than 250,000 last year, according to figures seen by the BBC, but support varies widely depending on where people live.Water companies spent almost £259m on "social tariffs" last year - discounted bills to help low-income households - but they each

and offer different levels of discount.Those on Welsh Water social tariffs got an average bill reduction of £287, while Southern Water customers got an average of £110 off in 2023-24.The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) is calling on firms to have a single scheme so that everyone gets the same level of help wherever they live.

The number of households on social tariffs has risen by a fifth since last year to a record 1.6 million. Spending on them rose by a quarter, according to CCW data.It said the increase was down to companies doing more to promote their support schemes, data sharing between the government and councils helping to identify customers in need, and the cost of living leading to more households seeking help.

But there are concerns that support is not the same across the country and that people could be missing out on help simply because of where they live.

Each company’s social tariff scheme differs based on things like household income, benefits received, individual water bills and how much people have in savings.Meanwhile, the males, which are six to seven times more toxic than the females, are used for the antivenom programme and milked every two weeks, Emma explains.

The pipette she uses to remove the venom from the fangs is attached to a suction hose - crucial for collecting as much venom as possible, since each spider provides only small amounts.While a few drops is enough to kill, scientists need to milk 200 of these spiders to have enough to fill one vial of antivenom.

A marine biologist by training, Emma never expected to spend her days milking spiders. In fact, she started off working with seals.But now she wouldn't have it any other way. Emma loves all things arachnid, and goes under various nicknames - spider girl, spider mama, even "weirdo", as her daughter calls her.