South-east of England 'in state of drought'

The south east of England is now in a state of drought, Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today.

The region joins parts of eastern England which have been drought-afflicted since last summer, with some reservoirs, rivers and groundwater aquifers in the south-east well below normal levels after two dry winters.

The state of drought in the region was declared after the Environment Department (Defra) convened a summit of water companies, farmers and wildlife groups today to discuss potential water shortages in England.

Some rivers and groundwater levels are lower than during the drought of 1976.

Following the summit, Thames Water warned that there was a high chance of water restrictions such as hosepipe bans this summer, unless there was significant rainfall or customers used less water.