Unless it pours down in Kent for the next two days, then this April 2021 is set to be one of the driest on record.

To date, the average rainfall across the UK this month has been only 14.1mm - that's slightly under one fifth of the average April rainfall from the country, which is 72.53mm.

Beyond that, the South East has been particularly dry, having seen only 7% of the region's normal rainfall for the month.

The driest April ever recorded in the South East was in 1912, when the average was 4.8mm.

The driest April across the UK was in 1938 with a national average of 14.1mm

The Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre has been keeping records since 1862.

Its senior scientist Mike Kendon said: “April has been exceptionally dry. We are expecting a few showers over the next few days, but even so the month will likely end as one of the five driest on record."

The drought follows two earlier months of below-average rainfall.

February's rainfall in Kent was 43mm - 9% below the monthly average.

March's rainfall was 41.9mm 12% below the monthly average.

The statistics have led South East Water to issue guidance to gardeners on methods to save water usage.

Lee Dance, head of water resources at South East Water, said: "Here are three easy tips for the responsible gardener."

"Install a water butt - one water butt can hold enough to fill a watering can 25 times - for free.

"Ditch the sprinkler - sprinklers waste 50 per cent of the water they spray, through evaporation, run off and water landing where it isn’t needed.

"Use drought proof plants - cultivate drought-proof plants like lavender or palms. They're easy to look after and will save you time and money."

The figures have naturally raised concerns that we might be heading towards another exceptionally dry summer such as the country experienced in 1976.

Then the country experienced hose-pipe bans, crops withered in the fields and in some areas, households even had to collect water from a standpipe in the street after mains supplies were turned off.

A spokesman for South East Water suggested it was too early to make predictions yet for the summer.

Southern Water said that its main reservoir for Kent at Bewl Water was currently 92% full - slightly higher than usual for the time of the year.

This may have been helped by the fact that January's rainfall in Kent was actually 133.6mm - very nearly double the normal.

He said: "Some 70% of the water resources in our region come from aquifers – natural reservoirs far beneath the ground – and although Bewl Water is the largest fresh water body in the region, reservoirs supply only 7% of our region’s water needs.

"Following a rainy winter, aquifer and reservoir levels are in the above normal to normal range."

He said: "Unless we experience a dry winter, the biggest water supply challenge we tend to face comes from handling spikes in demand during warm and dry weather as customers fill paddling pools, water their gardens and take more showers and baths than normal."

"The problem then is treating enough raw water and pumping it through our 13,500km network of pipes.

"It is important that people use water extra wisely during these high demand periods to keep taps flowing and to leave more water in the environment for wildlife.

"Everyone needs to realise that the South East is a water-stressed region with less drinking water available per head of the population than Morocco, so we urge people to use water wisely all the time.”

The wettest April on record for Kent was the millennium year of 2000, with 133.7mm.

For more South East Water tips on water saving, click here.

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