Oxfordshire village runs out of water as lethal heatwave looms

The shortages comes as temperatures are forecast to soar day-on-day in the south of England this week

A worker from Thames Water delivering a temporary water supply from a tanker to the village of Northend in Oxfordshire. (PA)

Dozens of residents in an Oxfordshire village ran out of water forcing Thames Water to dispatch water tankers and bottled water to the area as the country faces a growing spectre of drought and a looming heatwave.

While supply has returned to customers in Northend village on the Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire border, Thames Water said it was using tankers to help boost supplies and keep up water pressure so more homes don’t run out.

Thames Water said 68 customers were without water for a time and that pressure remains lower than normal due to issues with the Stokenchurch reservoir. It said it hand delivered bottled water to customers on its priority services register, those who have special requirements such as being medically reliant on water.

“We realise how inconvenient this is, especially during such hot weather, and appreciate customers’ patience as we work to resolve things,” a spokesperson said.

Thames Water said on Tuesday that it would impose a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks becoming the latest water company to announce restrictions.

A prolonged spell of dry weather and with more hot, dry weather is raising concern that parts of the country could be declared to be in a state of drought later this week.

Farmers have already shared concerns about the success of their crops, and some have said it is currently too dry to plant oil seed rape which could have knock-on effects on next year’s harvest. Environmentalists are also sounding the alarm as to the impact of the drought on freshwater ecosystems, including on fish.

And there is more hot dry weather to come with a heatwave predicted to last into the weekend, and temperatures in the mid to high 30s forecast in parts of the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency issued a heat health alert on Tuesday advising people to look out for the young, elderly and clinically vulnerable in the heat. Heatwaves are silent killers in the UK, leading to spikes in heat-related excess deaths.

Scientists say heatwaves will continue to become more frequent and more intense, and the country will see more impactful droughts in the future if global heating continues unabated.

Scientists have found that the UK heatwave recorded last month was made at least 10 times more likely due to the climate emergency.