A HOSEPIPE ban remains in force in south Devon despite being lift in Cornwall and a small part of north Devon, South West Water has announced. 

The ban, which came into force almost a year ago, will be lifted in Cornwall next month following recent rainfall. 

But SWW stressed the region remains in official drought status and urged people to continue conserving water.

Most of Devon will continue to have a hosepipe ban.

But the situation in Devon is ‘improving and we will continue to monitor’.

However, the hosepipe ban is to remain across most of the county for the time being. 

SWW said water levels at Roadford Reservoir, which services much of Devon, would be reviewed ‘at the end of the peak tourist season’.

Levels at Colliford on Bodmin Moor were at were at 57per cent, higher than the 38per cent recorded at the same time last year.

At Roadford water levels remain at 57per cent - slightly higher than the 54per cent recorded at the same time last year.

SWW said ‘positive developments’ ensured the hosepipe ban in the areas serviced by Colliford which is all of Cornwall and a small part of north Devon could be responsibly lifted.

The company said: ‘Since the restrictions have been in place, there have been positive developments due to the collaboration of customers, South West Water's investments, and recent rainfall.

‘Climate change has shown how unpredictable weather patterns can be and we must continue to protect the region's rivers and beautiful natural resources.

‘We want to emphasise that water is a valuable resource and urge residents, businesses, and visitors to use water responsibly and Save Every Drop.’

David Harris, SWW’s drought and resilience director, said this was because weather patterns remained uncertain.

He said: ‘We’re nearly there in being able to make a responsible decision to lift that hosepipe ban [in Devon] but we're not quite there yet.

‘The weather has been so variable this year - we just haven’t got the confidence to lift that yet and know that we're not going to have to impose further restrictions down the track.’

He said conditions over the previous five months had been ‘very, very difficult’.

‘We had an incredibly hot year last year which drew our storages down - those storages didn’t get recharged over winter as we would have hoped.

‘It is climate change that is driving these weather patterns.’