The issue comes when you turn on water from your mains and channel it through a hose or hose-like tool, so avoid doing this at all for reasons outside the exempted terms as long as you’re under a ban. Yorkshire Water was the first body to announce a hosepipe ban this year, with an expected five million-plus people affected.

A water company has said it is doing everything in its power to maintain its 30-year record of not declaring a hosepipe ban.Severn Trent's comments come after the announcement on Tuesday of a drought in the Midlands region,

Thames Water announced its hosepipe or temporary use ban (TUB) after the EA placed much of its area in its "prolonged dry weather" category, one away from drought status. The EA said it expects more water companies to follow with their own TUBs, although it will be dependent on rainfall and temperatures in the weeks ahead.

As much of a parched England faces a blanket ban on using hose pipes to counter water shortages there are a group of people who will avoid the penalty. Southern Water has become the latest company to bring in a hosepipe ban, to protect rare chalk stream habitat, as the UK has battled exceptionally dry weather.

Southern Water has become the fourth utility company in England to issue a hosepipe ban. In a statement published on their website on Wednesday, the company announced that limitations on water usage will be in place from 9am on 21 July for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.

The hosepipe ban will come into effect in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight from 9am on Monday, the company said in a statement. Thames Water announced earlier this week that a hosepipe ban would come into effect across much of Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire.

A double water-pipe burst has led to road closures in a town. Water could be seen bubbling up and flowing along South Street and Edward Street in Hythe, Hampshire, early on Wednesday. Southern Water said the leak had been reported online and its engineers were on site making repairs. It said road closures were also being put in place.

Portsmouth Water customers have been reassured there are no immediate plans to implement a hosepipe ban in the area - but have been advised to made sure they use water ‘efficiently’.

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Wessex Water, which serves most of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, as well as parts of Dorset and Gloucestershire, has not introduced a hosepipe ban since 1976. It said there were a number of factors at play, including the fact 75% of its water source came from groundwater, which it said was more resilient against dry weather.