A hosepipe ban which would have affected seven million people in the north west of England has been called off.

Water supplier United Utilities announced on Thursday that it had called off the planned hosepipe ban, due to start on Sunday, because “recent rainfall has gone some way to helping with water supplies”.

The water company also said the slightly cooler temperatures had eased demand, helped along by customers’ own water-saving efforts. 

Water Services Director, Martin Padley, thanked people for their help in recent weeks and said leakage teams had also been working 24 hours a day to find and repair as many leaks as possible. 

“Given the improved position, helped by recent rainfall, we do not want to inconvenience customers unnecessarily at this time,” he said. 

“However, the long range forecast from the Met Office is one of relatively dry weather into the autumn, so future restrictions are still a possibility if more rain doesn’t arrive.”

Padley added that United Utilities would continue to “step up” its response by bringing additional water supplies on line and fixing more leaks.

“We are working closely with the Environment Agency in monitoring the water resources situation and we still urge our customers to please help us by using water wisely where they can,” he said.