Severn Trent plea about sprinklers and paddling pools in drought

Clarke told BBC CWR a hosepipe ban had not been imposed in the region but “that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be careful with water”.

He said it was “really important” households thought about where they used water, including in gardens.

Clarke asked people to consider “looking at more drought-tolerant plants because this is the sort of pattern of weather that we are going to see for the years to come”.

“We should all be much more careful with water all year round not just when we are in a drought, we all need to think where can we be more frugal,” he added.

On paddling pools, Clarke said the water company “does not want to be a killjoy” but it advises households to use smaller ones and not “fill those great big ones that are almost like a mini swimming pool”.

“We’ve all got to take some personal responsibility here and think about where we should be using water and where we should be prioritising.”