First hosepipe ban of summer to hit north-west England after weeks of firefighting on Saddleworth Moor

Britain’s first hosepipe ban of the summer has been announced in the region where reservoir water was used to battle weeks of moorland fires.

Millions of people in the North West will be forbidden from using hoses or sprinklers from August 5 unless there is a sustained period of rain in the next three weeks, however this is not expected.

The announcement by United Utilities follows the longrunning blaze on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester, where emergency services relied on hundreds of thousands of gallons a day from nearby mains water sources to protect life and property.

The company said the firefighting effort, which involved helicopter water dumps, coincided with a 25 per cent increase in customer demand in what is thought to be the longest heatwave since 1976.

Last night a spokesman said providing enough water to tackle the fires had been a “very, very difficult time” but that it had tried to prioritise water not destined for customers.

The hosepipe ban, known as a Temporary Use Ban, will come into force on Sunday August 5.

It will apply to domestic customers who get their water supply from United Utilities, with the exception of customers in Carlisle and the north Eden Valley, where supplies remain at reasonable levels.

Martin Padley, United Utilities water services director, said: "Despite some recent rainfall, reservoir levels are still lower than we would expect at this time of year and, with forecasters predicting a return to hot dry weather for the rest of July, we are now at a point where we will need to impose some temporary restrictions on customers.

"It is not a decision we have taken lightly."

The ban restricts the use of hosepipes or sprinklers for watering private gardens and washing private cars but customers will still be able to water their gardens with a watering can and wash their vehicles using a bucket and sponge, the firm said, which uses a fraction of the amount of water a hosepipe or sprinkler uses.

Anyone found to be breaking a hosepipe ban could be prosecuted in court and fined up to £1,000.

A hosepipe ban was announced in Northern Ireland in June, but this new restriction is the first on the British mainland of 2018.

A hosepipe typically uses 540 litres an hour, as much as a family-of-four would use in one day, while a sprinkler left running overnight uses as much water as a family-of-four would use in one week, according to United Utilities.

A hosepipe ban can reduce water usage by five to 10 per cent, according to research by United Kingdom Water Industry Research.

The fire on Saddleworth Moor broke out on Sunday June 24 and it was only last Friday that health officials declared air pollution had returned to a low level.

Police are investigating if the blaze, which destroyed more than 2,000 acres, was started by arson.