- Wessex Water has announced a hosepipe ban starting from midnight on Tuesday, affecting 1.4 million customers across Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.
- It is the first time in 50 years that the water company has introduced a ban, with the last occurring during the summer of 1976.
- The move takes the total number of people facing hosepipe restrictions across England to more than 27 million.
- Ruth Jefferson, Wessex Water’s chief executive, said: “The prolonged and extreme dry weather has meant demand across our region has consistently remained at more than 400 million litres per day, 30% above average for this time of year and the equivalent of almost half a million hosepipes running for a full hour every day.”
- It comes as fresher conditions are expected this week, with rain and thunderstorms possible in some areas.
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