SEVEN water companies who jointly supply Kent and other parts of the South East have issued an appeal to customers to save water because of a lack of rain.

The companies said that with the continued lack of substantial rainfalls across the region there was now an urgent need to conserve supplies.

Southern Water, Thames Water, South East Water, Mid-Kent Water, Three Valleys Water, Folkestone and Dover Water and Anglian Water said there had still been little autumn rain to make up for the exceptionally dry summer.

The companies, which between them supply a total of more than 18 million customers, are in the driest part of the country. Met Office figures show that South East England had the driest August and September since 1873, with a total of only 27 millimetres of rain - just 23 per cent of the historic average of 119 millimetres.

Southern Water's largest reservoir, Bewl Water, near Lamberhurst, is currently only half full. Normally at this time of the year it would hold up to 80 per cent of its 31,000 million-litre capacity.

The Darwell Reservoir, which serves the Hastings area, is only 30 per cent full - half of what it would normally contain at this time of year.

Thames Water, which supplies London and the Thames Valley, has begun pumping water from an underground aquifer in north London - a huge natural reservoir in which surplus water has been stored over the last few years.

It is the first time since 1997 that water has been taken from the source. Groundwater levels in Mid-Kent Water's area are below average for this time of year due to record high demand for water in the summer and a lack of rain.

The Ashdown Bed aquifer, which serves the Weald of Kent, has reached its lowest level since the 1995 drought.

On average, customers use 160 litres of water per day. The companies are urging people to shower instead of taking a bath and to wash the car with a bucket instead of a hose.

In addition they are being asked to use washing machines only with a full load, to fit a water-saving device to toilet cisterns and to install a water butt in the garden to make the most of any rain that does fall.