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09
Jul
Don't call us about hosepipe breaches, says North Yorkshire Police
North Yorkshire Police has urged people not to call 999 to report hosepipe ban breaches.
Yorkshire Water this week announced the country’s first hosepipe ban of 2025, which comes into force on Friday (July 11).
Under the restrictions, which the company’s director of water warned could last until winter, people cannot use a hosepipe for domestic purposes.
Businesses are allowed to use hosepipes for commercial reasons, and some residents are exempt from the ban on medical grounds.
However, the police have urged people to address any concerns about breaches to Yorkshire Water.
In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said:
Our phone lines are for emergencies - not for reporting hosepipe ban breaches.
From 11 July there are hosepipe restrictions in place across Yorkshire. Any call made to the police about this could divert our call handlers away from dealing with real emergencies.
So, if you have any questions about the restrictions, or any concerns about a potential breach, we would please ask that you follow the latest advice from Yorkshire Water, or your water provider.
The police said officers need to be kept free to take “genuine calls from those really in need of help”.
Details of hosepipe ban
The hosepipe ban comes after a sustained period of hot and dry weather.
Yorkshire’s reservoirs are currently at 55.8% capacity – 26.1% lower than average for this time of year – and the Environment Agency officially declared a drought last month.
The county experienced the driest and warmest spring on record with only 15mm of rainfall across the region between February and June, less than half of what would be expected at this time of year.
During the hosepipe ban, people cannot:
- Use a hosepipe to water a garden
- Use a hosepipe to clean private vehicles or boats
- Water plants with a hosepipe on a domestic or non-commercial premises
- Fill or maintain a domestic swimming pool, padding pool, hot tub or cold-water plunge pool with a hosepipe
- Use a hosepipe for domestic recreational use
- Fill or maintain a domestic pond or ornamental fountain using a hosepipe
- Clean walls or windows at a domestic property using a hosepipe
- Clean paths or patios with a hosepipe
- Clean other artificial outdoor spaces using a hosepipe
People are allowed to wash their cars or water their gardens by filling a bucket or watering can with tap water, rather than using a hosepipe.
People can also use water that is not sourced from taps, such as rainwater from a water butt, a private borehole or grey water, Yorkshire Water said.
The restrictions do not apply to apply businesses if using a hosepipe is directly related to a commercial purpose.
However, Yorkshire Water added businesses are not allowed to use a hosepipe outside of “essential commercial needs”, such as cleaning a path outside a company property.
Blue badge holders or people who are on Yorkshire Water’s Priority Services Register or WaterSure tariff for medical reasons are also excluded from the hosepipe ban.
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