WATER use has dropped in north Essex after the introduction of a hosepipe ban.

Anglian Water introduced a ban on hosepipes on April 5 after the region saw the driest 18 months in a century.

Although north Essex has seen rainfall in the past two weeks, it has not been heavy enough to make up the shortfall and the Environment Agency says the drought could last into 2013.

The ban applies to the Colchester area and north-west Essex. Wivenhoe and Tendring area unaffected as they come under Veolia Water East.

Ciaran Nelson, a spokesman for Anglian Water, said: “We’ve definitely seen people using less water.

“We’re confident this is down to people appreciating the severity of the situation, and we’re really grateful to everyone for doing their bit to beat the drought.”

So far no fines or warnings have been given to people flouting the ban, but Anglian Water is keen to tackle persistent offenders as the ban continues.

An online poll by the Gazette found 69 per cent of readers would not report their neighbour to the water company if they spotted them using a hosepipe.

Mr Nelson said: “This isn’t about spying on neighbours and reporting them for using hosepipes.

“We’re confident people will police the ban with their own conscience knowing we are in the most severe environmental drought this region has seen in more than a century.”