Don’t grass on your neighbour if they break the hosepipe ban

There’s nothing worse than a grass. Or so goes the wisdom expressed in soap operas like EastEnders. Of course, there are worse things than being a grass, but such an overstatement does reflect a common taboo found in many cultures: no one likes a snitch, telltale, narc, informer or sneak.

Which is why the news that South East Water is asking its customers in Kent and Sussex to get in touch if they notice a neighbour ignoring a forthcoming hosepipe ban is unlikely to win it many plaudits. The supplier has placed a contact link on its website for people to report on miscreants they see flouting the instructions, inviting people to grass up neighbours they see watering the grass.

What a charmless, alienating idea. It’s not as though people are much enamoured these days of corporations that provide us with life’s essentials. Encouraging snitching is only going to instil even more resentment towards big business.