The hosepipe ban affecting much of Kent has been lifted with immediate effect.

Bosses at South East Water made the decision less than two months after introducing the Temporary Use Ban (TUB) following the hottest June on record.

The restrictions have stopped customers from using hosepipes for watering their gardens, washing cars, patios and boats and from filling swimming and paddling pools – with rule-breakers facing fines of up to £1,000.

But the county has experienced almost daily downpours in July, with the rain set to continue through much of August.

Having previously informed users that bosses would review the ban today, a spokesperson for the water firm confirmed restrictions were being lifted this afternoon.

South East Water’s CEO David Hinton said: “We took into account the wider context of extreme heat currently affecting parts of Europe. We approached our reviews with a sensible degree of caution as we wanted to protect the water supply for all our customers and the environment.

“I would like to say thank you to our customers for adhering to the restrictions and finding ways to cut down on their water use, reducing the level of demand.

“Although at the moment it does not feel like summer, we do hope people will continue to be mindful about how much water they use, particularly on hot days, when demand is higher.”

South East Water says the period of dry weather leading up to the hottest June on record led to the firm needing to supply up to an additional 138 million litres of water a day – equivalent to supplying four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne.

As a result, the firm says it was “left with no choice but to introduce the temporary use ban to bring demand down to maintain supplies”.

Last year was the UK’s driest summer in 50 years and a similar ban was introduced by South East Water.