Five million more Britons now hit with hosepipe ban as nation swelters in summer heatwave

Millions more Britons have been hit with a hosepipe ban as the summer heatwave continues.

Officials have warned that a drought in several areas of the UK is likely, with authorities closely monitoring East Anglia, Devon and Cornwall, as water companies scrambling to manage resources.

Now, Anglian Water has announced a hosepipe ban - which will impact five million customers in the East of England.

Customers have been told to avoid watering their gardens, washing their cars or filling swimming and paddling pools.

The ban will be enforced at 1am on Saturday, but the utility has already urged customers to "live within the spirit of these restrictions immediately".

The restrictions follow three consecutive heatwaves as Thursday marked the eighth day at or above 34C this year - a record-breaking number of days for a single calendar year.

Dr Geoff Darch, the head of strategic asset planning for Anglian Water said: "This year has been exceptionally hot and dry, and we're already into the third heatwave of the summer.

"Every day of sustained hot weather increases the challenge of balancing supply and demand, and we are now at the point where we need to ask customers to help by hanging up the hosepipe, letting lawns go brown, cars go dirty and using water even more wisely to help protect the environment and ensure water remains available for all customers."

One million Southern Water customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will also be made to limit their water usage, a restriction which will come into effect on Friday.

Southern Water boss Tim McMahon has insisted his firm will not implement a ban in Sussex, but requested customers "use water wisely".

Cambridge Water just yesterday announced a hosepipe ban for its 350,000 customers.

It marked the first time in three decades the restriction had been in place.

The utility firm urged customers for their help and to only use water for "essential purposes".

Local water resources were now "under significant pressure", with demand reaching record levels, it added.

On July 3, South East Water introduced a ban for areas of Kent.

Residents were warned using a hosepipe could result in fines of up to £1,000.

But locals told the BBC they were unlikely to "dob in" a neighbour for using their hosepipe.

"These companies have lots of leakages that don't get fixed," Bearsted resident Colin O'Connel said.

"This should be addressed before they start fining people for using hosepipes."

South East Water said it "worked incredibly hard" to prepare for the summer, but the "sheer scale of this sustained heatwave" led to the ban.