The move came following plans by a local landfill operator to accept debris from dismantled nuclear power stations, rather than sending the waste to a secure disposal facility as in the past.

Samuel South of Peterborough City Council said that he was concerned that the waste would leach into the environment. But a spokesman for the water supplier retorted, “that’s exactly what we want to happen.

“Think of the the energy people will save, not having to have the light on while they shower, for example. And it’ll make it easy to find your glass of water during the night without fumbling around on the bedside table and spilling it on the cat.”

C. Montgomery Burns, of British Nuclear Power, said “Don’t be fucking ridiculous, radioactive water doesn’t actually glow. Well, maybe on the way out…”