Yorkshire residents won't be able to wash their cars from Friday because Yorkshire Water has announced a hosepipe ban. The water company made the announcement after an exceptionally dry and warm spring. The weekend promises to bring scorching weather to large parts of the UK, with temperatures north of 30C felt in various locations around England, including potentially Yorkshire.
Explaining the decision, Yorkshire Water’s director of water, Dave Kaye, said: "Introducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’ve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place. Our region experienced an extremely dry spring, which resulted in the region entering drought status in June. Usually, spring is a time when our groundwater sources and reservoirs continue to be topped up by changeable weather, but this has not been the case in 2025, with our reservoir stocks falling since the last week of January."
READ MORE: UK weather maps show the day temperatures will rise to brutal 38C
The decision from Yorkshire Water is perhaps unsurprising, given the county's reservoirs are currently just 55.8% full, which is 26.1% lower than they would usually be at this time of year; the Environmental Agency declared a drought in Yorkshire in June.
Yorkshire Water has issued a stark warning that the restrictions could remain in place until winter. Fines for breaking the ban can be as high as £1,000. But what activities are banned from Friday?
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If you run a company, however, there is no need to panic - your firm will be allowed to use a hosepipe for commercial purposes.
Those with a blue badge and those on Yorkshire Water’s Priority Services Register will be exempt from the ban. People on the WaterSure tariff for medical reasons will also be exempt.
