Drought declared in Yorkshire after dry weather

Scammonden reservoir in West Yorkshire - pictured in September - is one of several where levels are well below where they should be at this time of year

Drought has been declared across Yorkshire following months of unusually dry weather.

Yorkshire officially entered drought status on Friday after a lack of spring and summer rainfall, having previously been classified as in a period of prolonged dry weather.

Andy Shaw, head of water production, treatment and energy at Yorkshire Water, said the EA's decision reflected dry conditions across the region but "does not mean water restrictions are currently needed".

Townend said: "The ongoing lack of rainfall means the flow in rivers and groundwater levels in certain parts of our area are very low and have now reached our trigger for declaring a drought.

Baitings reservoir near Ripponden remains at a low level despite recent rain

She added: "We will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Yorkshire Drought Plan.

"We encourage people to be aware of the impacts of drought and use a little less water to speed up the recovery from drought."

"Long-term resilience against our changing climate is a priority for this government."

Following the hottest and one of the driest summers on record, rainfall continued to be below average through September.

Reservoirs are currently just above 40% capacity, well below the average for the time of year - and interestingly lower than they were at this time last year when a hosepipe ban was in force.

Drought status would in theory allow Yorkshire Water to reduce the flow out of some reservoirs which would normally replenish water courses, in order to slow their decline, and even apply for a hosepipe ban.