People living in the south west of England have been urged to take shorter showers to cope with a summer rush of holidaymakers.
Furious locals in Cornwall and Devon are being asked to save five litres of water per day to make way for tourists.
It comes as South West Water reports that reservoirs in the area are at risk of running dry, with residents being urged to put away their hosepipes.
The water company claims 10 million litres could be saved if everyone in the region cuts down by just five litres per day - the equivalent of spending one minute less in the shower each morning.
A combination of the staycation boom and heatwaves has been blamed for the pressure on water levels in the region.
There have been growing tensions between locals and second homeowners causing house prices to surge, with some angry residents turning to vandalism at a protest in March.
Hot weather is expected across the UK in the next week, with temperatures of at least 34C in some areas across the south of England - making it a popular spot for Brits as the school year comes to a close.
Lisa Gahan, the director for water resources at South West Water, said: "It's been very dry over the last 12 months and while reservoir levels are good, we have had lots of dry spells.
"More people are coming down on holiday and more people are living here. We just want to make sure there's enough water for everyone to enjoy."
She told the BBC that Cornwall has not had to enforce any restrictions on water usage since the drought in the summer of 1976. She said: 'If we are careful we can have another year without any restrictions.'
An estimated 200,000 visitors are estimated to be in the Cornwall and Devon area at any one time during the school summer holidays.
Data suggests that around 40 per cent of properties in Cornwall are second homes, and this number has only risen since the Covid pandemic cause a lot of city dwellers to pack up and move to the countryside.
The surge in demand for second homes in the popular south-west spot has seen the price of homes there shoot up.
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