General · 21 July 2026
Thames Water brings in hosepipe ban as England and Wales near drought
Peter Trimming (Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA-2.0) | Image by nintysix on Freepik
More than 20 million people across southern England and parts of Wales are now covered by hosepipe bans after Thames Water joined other suppliers. The restrictions start on Thursday and stop people using hosepipes for jobs like watering gardens, washing cars and filling paddling pools because of prolonged hot, dry weather. People can still use watering cans, buckets and stored rainwater.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs