Some 1.4 million Britons have been slapped with a hosepipe ban today amid "serious concerns" over their water supply.

Residents across Kent and Sussex, served by South East Water, have been handed a "temporary use ban restriction" in a bid to protect supplies.

From Friday, locals are barred from using hosepipes for watering their gardens, washing cars, windows and patios, or filling swimming and paddling pools.

The firm has warned of "record-breaking demand" for drinking water in the two historic counties as they brace for a third heatwave of summer.

Demand has soared to some 680 million litres on June 30 - 105 million litres of water a day more than the summer average.

South East Water also said it was aware of "a number of leaks on the network" - with a statement vowing it was "working hard" to fix them.

It also claimed it had "no choice" but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers in the pair - and "continues to monitor the situation" for customers in parts of Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.

David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, said: "Providing the public water supply during this prolonged period of hot and dry weather continues to be challenging.

"Water supply resources have been significantly stretched, but are pleased that so far we have been able to largely meet customer demands."

He added: "However, we know that continued demand at this level presents a serious concern to ensure that we can protect the environment and keep everyone supplied.

"Despite asking for customers' help to use water for essential uses only, regrettably we've now been left with no choice but to introduce this to protect customers' supplies and the environment across Kent and Sussex.

"We continue to monitor the long term weather forecast, and will review this decision on a regular basis.

"Restricting the use of hosepipes and sprinklers to make sure we have enough water for our customers' essential use will ensure we can serve our vulnerable customers and to protect the local environment."