Yorkshire Water announces its first hosepipe ban in 27 years as reservoir levels fall below 50%

Temperatures in UK to be hotter than the Caribbean as four day extreme heat warning continues

Yorkshire Water has become the latest company to announce a hosepipe ban as a drought is set to be declared for parts of England on Friday.

It comes as the UK swelters in a four-day heatwave that has seen the Met Office issue an amber warning for extreme heat across most of England Wales.

The mercury is set to soar as high as 35C in southern areas of the UK on Friday, which will be hotter than the Bahamas, Jamaica and Barbados.

Parched fields will get no respite this weekend as the dry weather intensifies (PA Wire)

Yorkshire Water’s director of water, Neil Dewis, said: “Our decision to introduce a hosepipe ban is based on the risk that water stocks continue to fall in the coming weeks and the need to be cautious about clean water supplies and long term river health.”

The restrictions will come into effect from August 26.

A heat health alert has also been put in place by the UK Health Security Agency, with experts advising people to look out for those who are older or with existing health conditions, as well as young children.

The ongoing dry conditions, combined with last month’s record-breaking heatwave, have depleted rivers, reservoirs and aquifers and dried up soils, hitting agriculture, water supplies and wildlife and raising the risk of wildfires.

Four water companies in England and Wales had earlier brought in hosepipe bans or signalled their intention to do so, while the Wildlife Trusts have called for an England-wide hosepipe ban to protect nature and rivers.

Yorkshire Water has become the fifth company in England and Wales to announce a hosepipe ban (PA Wire)

Some water companies have failed to meet their own targets for cutting household leaks and domestic use, with many blaming the coronavirus pandemic as more people have been at home.

Ofwat, the water regulator. said in a statement: “Progress has been made in the past few years but there is much further to go, which is why we are pushing companies to reduce leakage, fix their environmental performance and become more financially resilient while keeping bills affordable and helping customers reduce their consumption.

“Where we find that companies have fallen short, we will act – over the last five years, for example, we have imposed penalties and payments of over £250 million.”

It comes after temperatures reached 34.2C at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, on Thursday afternoon, while many areas in southern England and Wales hit the low 30s.

Fires broke out in different areas, including London, Essex, Gloucestershire, Surrey and Cheshire.

London Fire Brigade warned “tinderbox” conditions meant there was an exceptional risk of fire across London during the heatwave, while the Met Office has said it will raise its fire severity alert to “exceptional” - the highest level - on Friday.