Drought: Ban on the use of garden hoses in London from August 24

Thames Water, the water company serving customers in and around London, announced today that it is banning its customers from using garden hoses to water their lawns from August 24, citing the prolonged drought.

Britain officially declared drought in parts of England on Friday as this year's July was the driest in the region for almost 90 years, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius for the first time.

"With low rainfall forecast in the coming months, we now need to move on to the next step in our drought plan," the company said in a statement posted on its website.

"Everything we do now will help protect our stocks for next summer and help the environment," he adds.

Before Thames Water, other companies in England had introduced this ban, which aimed to prevent their customers from using garden hoses to water their gardens, wash their cars or fill inflatable pools.

Source: APE - MEB, Reuters