Fourth water firm's hosepipe ban

Sutton and East Surrey Water supplies 648,000 customers

A fourth water company in the drought-hit South East has announced it is bringing in a full hosepipe ban.

Sutton and East Surrey Water's enforcement move is due to come into effect on Wednesday.

The firm - which serves parts of Surrey, West Sussex, south London and west Kent - had previously only banned sprinklers and unattended hosepipes.

Southern Water, South East Water and Mid Kent Water are also operating full hosepipe bans.

The Environment Agency has called for all south-east water companies to adopt the same drought measure by April at the latest.

Sutton and East Surrey Water's operations director, Mike Hegarty, said: "We are facing a one-in-100-year drought and must take action to safeguard supplies.

"We are not running out of water but the resource situation is serious," he cautioned.

"We have had almost 30% less rain in the past 18 months than the region normally receives."

The Environment Agency's Dave Willis said: "Sutton and East Surrey Water is acting responsibly by introducing a full hosepipe ban at this stage."