HOSEPIPE and sprinkler bans could be in place in weeks in East Hampshire, following drought warnings from water firms.

Hampshire and West Sussex are among 16 places in drought in the south east of England.

"While we are not running out of water, if the situation does not dramatically improve in the next few weeks, we will need to put in place the drought measures set out in our drought plan," said Lee Dance, head of water resources and environmental at South East Water. "In the absence of any prolonged periods of rainfall to bring all our water resources back to normal for this time of year, we are having to plan prudently for restr-icting customers' non essential use of water by banning use of sprinklers and hosepipes. Restrictions may need to come into force as early as spring to protect public supplies for the essentials – drinking, washing and cooking."