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Locals refuse to report as hosepipe ban nears

Phil Harrison,in Maidstoneand
Hsin-Yi Lo,South East
Phil Harrison/BBC A blonde woman in a black puffer jacket and a pair of sunglasses resting on her head. She is standing at a high street.Phil Harrison/BBC
Jade Knight said that she believed the hosepipe ban was not the way to deal with water supply issues

Some residents of Kent have said they will not report neighbours who flout the soon to be imposed hosepipe ban.

South East Water (SEW) has urged its 850,000 customers in the county to not use their hosepipes in response to high temperatures and record demand for water across Kent.

The rule officially comes into force at 01:00 BST on Friday, with fines of up to £1,000 for those who contravene the ban.

However, Maidstone resident Jade Knight said that she "would not stop" her neighbour if they used a hosepipe.

Knight added: "I could see why there is a hosepipe ban, but this isn't the way to deal with less water."

Phil Harrison/BBC A blonde woman in a white cardigan and blue and white top, wearing glasses. She is standing next to a woman, wearing sunglasses, and wearing a black cardigan and black and white top. They are standing at a high street.Phil Harrison/BBC
Dee Tolhurst and Julie Hollinson said that the ban would not affect them as blue badge holders

Meanwhile, Dee Tolhurst and Julie Hollinson, who live in Maidstone, said that the hosepipe ban would not affect them.

"The ban makes no difference to us as we've got blue badges," Hollinson said.

"If you are registered disabled, you can still use a hosepipe as you can't carry a bucket to water your plants," Tolhurst added.

Phil Harrison A man wearing glasses with a big white beard, a colourful shirt and sun hat. He is standing at a high street.Phil Harrison
Colin O'Connell said that South East Water should focus on fixing leakages

Colin O'Connell, from Bearsted, said that he would not "dob in" a neighbour.

"These companies have lots of leakages that don't get fixed," he said.

"This should be addressed before they start fining people for using hosepipes."

Maidstone local Ryan Tomlinson said that while he would not report a neighbour, he would encourage them to follow the rules.

"I would have a chat if they were using a hosepipe when there's a ban on. All problems could be solved by talking," he added.

What is allowed under the hosepipe ban?

Some of the things that SEW customers have been told to avoid include:

  • Watering a garden or plants using a hosepipe
  • Cleaning a private vehicle
  • Filling pools, ponds and fountains
  • Cleaning walls, windows, paths and patios

The ban applies to areas including Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Canterbury.

However, some customers are eligible for exemptions to the temporary restrictions.

In May, parts of Kent endured major water supply disruptions with SEW blaming the demand for water during the hot weather as the cause of the outages.

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