United Utilities have today lifted the hosepipe ban imposed on the north west of England last month.
The water company explained that significant rainfall from mid July to August had seen an end to the ban, despite Pennine reservoir levels remaining below average for the time of year.

The ban was initially imposed in the North West on July 9 after the region saw its driest December to June spell in more than 70 years. United Utilities has estimated that since the ban was introduced, its customers saved a total of four billion litres of water - enough to provide more than 230 toilet flushes per household.

United's supply demand manager Richard Blackwell said: "Reservoir levels have risen in recent weeks in Cumbria and North Wales and have stabilised in the Pennines with the rainfall over the last month. We now have sufficient reservoir storage overall to be able to lift the ban. This will come as welcome news to our millions of customers, who have been extremely patient and conscientious with their water usage."

He added: "Our key reservoirs in Cumbria and North Wales remain below normal, with some still at very low levels, but we are now able to compensate for this shortfall by moving more water from Cumbria and North Wales using our integrated pipe network. Overall, the situation is much improved and the ban is no longer required to safeguard essential supplies."

The water company is still urging customers to use water wisely, as some reservoir levels are still very low.