Anglian Water (AW) has confirmed it has no plans to impose a hosepipe ban despite the prolonged spell of dry weather - but it is encouraging people to be “water efficient”.

AW has told The Hunts Post that demand for water had risen over recent weeks, but current water supply levels were adequate.

The east of England is the driest region in the UK and gets about half the rainfall of other parts of the UK.

AW says the heatwave has seen a huge increase in demand for water, with customers using an extra 200 million litres each day.

A spokesman for the authority said: “We monitor our networks carefully all year round and have long-term plans in place to manage water resources. Water levels in our reservoirs and ground water stores are healthy and in some cases above average and we don’t anticipate a hosepipe ban based on resource levels today.

He added: “Having said that, Love Every Drop is in our logo and at the heart of what we do as a business anyway, and we’re grateful to customers who help make the best use of this precious resource in this dry region by loving every drop all year round. We’re a responsible business, and saving this precious resource is the right thing, not just for today, but for the future. We are thinking about next summer and if we want to be in a good position then we also need people to save today. We’ve been sharing practical tips about how people can be water-wise in our region and we’ve had some great suggestions from our customers too.”

According to the Met Office, the highest temperature recorded so far this year is 33.3 °C at Santon Downham on July 23.

Public Health England, in association with the Met Office, issued a Level 3 heat-health watch alert last week. The service is designed to help healthcare professionals manage through periods of extreme temperature.

Dr Thomas Waite, consultant in health protection at Public Health England, said: “Temperatures are likely be high in parts of England this week, which may leave older people, young children and those with long-term conditions, including heart and lung diseases, struggling to adapt to the heat. So keep an eye on friends and family who may be at risk.

“To beat the heat, try to keep out the sun from 11am to 3pm.”