SOUTHERN Water is keeping its hosepipe ban in place as we head into the colder and wetter months, it has confirmed.

In a letter to customers, it thanked people for adhering to the Temporary Use Ban restrictions – also known as TUBs or hosepipe bans – introduced on August 5.

It said: "We fully appreciate the impact these restrictions have had on you and we want to reassure you of the things we’re doing to reduce demand on local rivers and limit water loss on our network.

"Saving water in your area is making a difference.  

"By following these restrictions, you’ve helped reduce water usage in the area by around 5 per cent compared to last year, saving roughly 11 million litres of water. That’s enough to fill over four Olympic swimming pools.

"Thank you for playing your part and helping reduce pressure on the Rivers Test and Itchen."

However, it said it needs to keep restrictions in place for "a bit longer".

It explained: "Despite the reduction in demand and recent wet weather, the River Test’s levels are still low, around 25 per cent down on where they should be at this time of year.

"That’s because we’ve had lower than average rainfall for the last ten months. So, we need to keep restrictions in place a bit longer."

No date has been given.