Severn Trent warns water supplies running low

Severn Trent is urging its customers to be "mindful of their water use" after a dry spring and hot June.

It said most counties in its area saw only half their average rainfall last month and in Staffordshire it had been as little as 37%.

As a result, the firm said there was less water in reservoirs and rivers and while there was no plan for a hosepipe ban yet, it remained an option.

Tony Larner, a spokesperson for Severn Trent Water, said: "Everyone can play a part in stopping that from happening."

At the end of May, a drought was declared in north west England and Severn Trent said its reservoirs were at 71% of their normal capacity.

Tittesworth reservoir, which supplies the north Staffordshire area, is at 56%.

Mr Larner suggested people take simple measures like turning the tap off when they brush their teeth, taking shorter showers and fixing leaky taps.

"We've got eight million customers and if they all followed these tips we wouldn't have any issues," he said.

Mr Larner also advised people not to water their garden every day in the hot weather and said dry plants would soon bounce back when it rained.

Severn Trent covers a huge area, including mid Wales, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, parts of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

The firm said it had been able to reduce its own leaks by 16% over the past five years and the company said it was "hugely important that we are all water wise so there's always enough to go round".

Staffordshire had seen some of the biggest increases in water-use during June, especially in Stoke-On-Trent, Stafford and Leek, it said.

Mr Larner said one of the most significant ways of saving water was keeping a jug of water in the fridge, to save having to run the tap to get the water cold.