Hosepipe ban in place for millions of water customers may not be lifted until next year

Millions of families could remain under a hosepipe ban until next year despite the recent wet weather.

Thames Water, which covers London and southern parts of England, introduced a hosepipe ban for the 10million homes in their region in late August following a heatwave and the driest July for 50 years.

However, the ban has not been lifted despite recent downpours and there is a chance people will be unable to use a hosepipe for cleaning their car, washing windows or watering the garden throughout the winter.

Thames Water said when announcing the ban that its reservoirs were "much lower than usual".

The firm was reported to have said the ban will likely not be lifted over the winter months.

Andrew Tucker, a water demand manager at Thames Water said that an exact date has not been set for lifting the restrictions.

The ban was introduced following dry weather this summer (PA)

Mr Tucker told the BBC : "We are still trying to recover from a really tough year that Mother Nature threw at us. 10 of the last 12 months have been below average rainfall.

"We've had a little bit in September and we can see the grass is now greening up but an average September doesn't make up for 10 months of dry and record heat."

Most of England and Wales is still in drought, according to the National Environment Agency, The Sun reports.

Mr Tucker added: "We've got to make sure that we've got enough water going forward for everyone in the longer term."

Thames Water said that reservoirs were still at their lowest levels since 2003.

It added: "Despite recent rain, rivers across our region are well below their average level and reservoirs are down by as much as 25 per cent."

Washing cars and cleaning windows with hosepipes are not permitted under the ban (Getty Images/Westend61)

In introducing the ban, water bosses hoped to reduce the daily demand for water from 150 litres per person to 100 litres.

Six other companies implemented hosepipe bans in the UK, affecting almost 30 million people.

Anyone found to have breached the ban can face a fine of £1,000.

However, there are a number of loopholes and exemptions, with some people still able to fill hot tubs and others able to fill up ornamental fountains as long as it is for religious reasons.