Bosses at South East Water are set to review the hosepipe ban that has been in place since earlier this year.

It came into force across swathes of Kent on June 26 after demand for drinking water reached record levels – with rule-breakers facing fines of up to £1,000.

The restrictions have stopped customers from using hosepipes for watering their gardens, washing cars, patios and boats and from filling swimming and paddling pools.

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

In a statement released today, a spokesperson for South East Water confirmed bosses will be reviewing the ban on Friday.

“We have been closely monitoring our position, looking at several indicators to determine the appropriate time to lift the restrictions,” they said.

“This has included looking at the current water demand levels as well as the longer-term picture for weather, and resource availability on a weekly basis.

“Given the wider context of extreme heat currently affecting parts of Europe, we have approached our reviews with a sensible degree of caution. We want to protect the water supply for all our customers until the risk of another heatwave has passed.

“This requires us to have a level of certainty that demand will not dramatically rise, as it did in June. Whilst the risk of a further sustained hot spell occurring this summer appears to be receding based on latest forecasts, we don’t yet have sufficient certainty, so the restrictions remain in place, for now.”

“We will continue to monitor the situation carefully, taking account of latest forecasts, and will review the situation again on 4th August.”

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.