Drought fears in Britain

Britain is bracing itself for a drought that could be the worst since 1976, with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs calling a summit in order to "prepare for the worst".

South-east England, East Anglia and the East Midlands are among the worst affected areas, and could see water restrictions in place soon unless there is prolonged rainfall before April, the Environmental Agency (EA) warns. Water companies are already encouraging consumers to cut down on consumption.

Groundwater levels are still falling in some areas, after an extremely dry winter period. EA experts have warned that twice the average rainfall is needed to avoid a hosepipe ban, with river levels at a worryingly low level.

Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the EA told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that: "We're reaching the end of the second consecutive dry winter and that's very unusual so the situation is getting quite serious across the east of England, the Midlands and the south-east."

"It's not quite as bad as the situation we saw in 1976, but it's unusually close so we're planning for the worst."

According to the Telegraph, in the south-east of England people are considered to be living under greater water scarcity than parts of Egypt or Morocco. Dragonflies, otters and kingfishers are all considered to be at risk.

Posted by Claire Manning