A LEADING climate change expert has issued a stark warning that water shortages will become more acute in Kent because too little is being done to conserve supplies.

Philip Sivell, a leading member of the Advisory Committee on UK Climate Impacts Programme, has told Kent county councillors that water scarcity in Kent is so serious that it is on a par with parts of the middle East.

Mr Sivell said he had serious reservations about whether there would be enough water to go around to meet the extra demand created by thousands of homes in places like Ashford.

Water authorities, local councils and developers were not doing enough to meet the challenge, he warned. His comments came as several water authorities in Kent took steps to combat the drought with hosepipe bans and compulsory water meters.

Mr Sivell said: "The impact of climate change will be greater in the South East than in any other part of the UK. It has the biggest temperature increases and reductions in summer rainfall. Have all the issues been addressed? Perceptions and policies are changing but the question is whether they are changing fast enough. The answer is no."

He also cast doubt on claims by regional planners that everything was in place to ensure water supplies could meet the huge increase in demand caused by intensive development in the region over the next two decades.

"Technically, it can be done but I would ask what will happen after 2026 and whether these improvements will take place in the timescale set out. Our track record is not good."

The severity of water shortages were graphically illustrated when he said Kent and the South East had less water available than countries like Iraq, Pakistan or Egypt.

"We have susbtantially less available when you consider the high population density in the UK. We have got a bit more than Morocco and are on a par with Jordan. That is quite frightening."

It was up to developers, along with water authorities, farmers and councils, to find innovative ways of helping conserve water. "Actually, there are a lot of opportunities provided we invest the time and effort in thinking what they might be," he stressed.

A cross-party committee of councillors heard from Mr Sivell as part of an inquiry examining water supply issues in Ashford and the rest of Kent.