Dripping taps can waste thousands of litres of water

Southern Water has said its Weir Wood reservoir, near East Grinstead, West Sussex, is only 57% full when it should be 90% full at this time of year.

Four months of below average rainfall is being blamed for the lack of water.

Now the firm wants people in East Grinstead and nearby Crawley to conserve water in the coming months to prevent a shortage this summer.

'Precious resource'

The water company said the heavy snowfall has not helped the situation as 1ft of snow is equivalent to one inch of rain.

Weir Wood reservoir is the only reservoir in the region to rely on rainfall where as other places, such as Bewl Water, can have water pumped to it.

Southern Water said it was keeping an eye on the situation along with the Environment Agency.

Peter Midgely, from the agency, said: "We have now had four months of below-average rainfall and we need a wet spring to get water levels back up.

"Water is a very precious resource and we could do more to make sure we do not waste it.

"Thousands of litres are wasted every day by dripping taps and people using hosepipes."