Hosepipe ban set for two UK regions affecting millions as 30C highs leave little water

A hosepipe ban will come into force in two UK regions after soaring temperatures have left little or no water, causing schools to shut and residents to get drinking water from bottled water stations.

The ban will be introduced in across Kent and Sussex due to a record demand for drinking water on 26 June, South East Water bosses said.

A hosepipe ban is a temporary ban on using a hosepipe and is put in place by water companies when there is high demand and low supply.

South East Water said despite providing an extra 120 million litres of water a day, demand in June has broken records.

A plea has been issued to use only essential water from Haywards Heath in West Sussex to Whitstable in Kent.

David Hinton, the firm’s chief executive, said the situation “has developed much more rapidly than last year” and it has been “left with no choice” but to introduce the temporary ban.

He said: “Understandably, we’ve seen customer demand increase in line with the hotter weather, however this has impacted our ability to keep all customers in supply at all times.

“Despite asking for customers’ help to use water for essential uses only, regrettably we’ve now been left with no choice but to introduce this temporary use ban restriction to protect customers’ supplies across Kent and Sussex.”

Mr Hinton added that restricting the use of hosepipes and sprinklers will “ensure we can serve our vulnerable customers and to protect the local environment.”

It comes after three schools in East Sussex partially closed on Friday (16 June) due to water shortages.

Mark Cross Church of England Primary School in Crowborough said it could not open to all year groups because of reduced sanitary facilities and no running water.

Areas that have experienced no or low water pressure during the week include Crowborough, Wadhurst, Mayfield, Lewes, Newhaven in East Sussex, and Biddenden, Staplehurst, Cranbrook and Ashford in Kent.

Hosepipe bans were imposed on hundreds of thousands of people in the south-west in April.

Customers of South West Water in much of Devon, including Plymouth, Barnstaple, Tavistock and Torquay, are all subject to the restrictions which are likely to be in place until December.

Meanwhile, another ban for the whole of Cornwall and a small part of north Devon imposed last summer remains in place affecting 655,000 households.

A heatwave has hit the nation in recent weeks affecting water levels as temperatures have soared up to 31C.

A “stern warning” has been issued by climate experts as the world has experienced its hottest ever start to June on record.

The first eleven days of the month have been 1.5C hotter than before industrial times which is an indicator that the world is quickly approaching that threshold, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).