The chief executive of Kelda Group has quit as the company announced it is considering restructuring Yorkshire Water.

Dr Kevin Bond resigned "by mutual consent" from Kelda Group - parent of the water company which employs 2,200 people. Chief Executive Dr Bond is the third top manager at Kelda to have left in the last two months and his resignation sparked a call today for an investigation into the running of Yorkshire Water by national group WaterWatch.

Dr Bond was not at work today and was said to be on leave. The company denied speculation he had quit over a row on future plans for Yorkshire Water.

In an announcement today, Kelda Group said it was launching a "wide-ranging review of its strategy and group structure" and will include looking at "the benefits of separation, subject to regulatory approvals, of the ownership and operation of Yorkshire Water Services Ltd's assets."

The review could mean the assets of Yorkshire Water - such as reservoirs and buildings - could be split from the water supply and sewerage side of the business.

If the restructuring of Yorkshire Water went ahead, the group said it would look at giving "excess capital" from the sale to its shareholders.

John Kidd, a union spokesman at the YW Buttershaw site, said today: "This sudden resignation has upset staff and people are wondering whether the idea is to sell off Yorkshire Water."

But YW spokesman Richard Emmott said the opposite was the case. "Our aim is to concentrate our efforts on the core water business and we are reviewing the business in line with that aim," he said.

WaterWatch has called for a joint investigation into YW by Ofwat - the water industry regulator - and the Department of Trade and Industry. Peter Bowler, of WaterWatch, said: "We are calling for an investigation into the running of Yorkshire Water because of the resignation of Kevin Bond. We are also calling for an extraordinary meeting of shareholders so directors can explain why this is happening."

In February former Yorkshire Water chairman Brandon Gough announced his early retirement from Kelda which took place at the end of March. But shortly afterwards he was named as one of the directors of Alchemy, the firm of venture capitalists buying Rover.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.