How the other half live! The road divided over a hosepipe ban with half of residents forbidden to water their lawns... while neighbours have luscious green gardens

By KATHERINE LAWTON, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:01, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 00:21, 3 August 2026 Residents on an affluent road in Kent have been divided over a hosepipe ban, with some free to water their gardens while others are forced to let them die.     One cluster of houses on Hosey Common Road, Westerham, fall under SES Water, which has no restrictions in place on the street.  Meanwhile, residents just a one-minute drive away on the same road are governed by Thames Water, which imposed an open-ended ban last week.  This means that while some homeowners on the street - where houses are worth an average of £873,750 - boast luscious gardens with plentiful flowerbeds and greener lawns, others have seen their perfectly pruned gardens shrivel up into a desert.  It comes as water companies across Britain have rolled out temporary hosepipe bans, with half of England placed into drought amid 35C temperatures.  Westerham residents governed by Thames Water said they have started saving water from their bath in a desperate bid to preserve it - while neighbours doors down can soak their lawns, fill up paddling pools and wash their cars with a hosepipe.  Jane Ferdinando, 58, who lives two doors away from the last house controlled by the ban, told the Daily Mail: 'We haven't been using our hosepipe. We save our bath water.' Her husband Tony, 71, added: 'Not for the lawn but for the vegetable patch, and to try and keep some of the main things that we don't want to lose. But a lot of the stuff we're just leaving.'  Residents at the bottom of Hosey Common Road around Hosey Hill (circled red) are under a strict hosepipe ban with Thames Water. A one-minute drive away on the same road (circled green), homeowners governed by SES Water can use their hosepipes as they please  Houses further up Hosey Common Road, which are not under a hosepipe ban, have greener gardens  An aerial view shows the brown lawns belonging to a cluster of homeowners on Hosey Hill, Hosey Common Road, governed by Thames Water Jane and Tony Ferdinand live right on the boundary and are governed by Thames Water. They have been using their bath water in a desperate bid to save their garden  Your browser does not support iframes. Jane said she finds the different rules 'annoying', adding: 'What we find slightly frustrating is that we make so many efforts to collect the rainwater, save the bath water, and then there are other people that haven't got any water butts, and they're just using their taps to water flowers and stuff. 'We're just prioritising things that we don't want to lose, and don't want to die.'  The couple, who have lived in their home for 25 years, said another frustration is a 'leak' down the road that they claim has been going on for over a week.  'If we could filter that water into our garden it would be great. It's just ridiculous that it's just wasted,' Tony said.  A woman who lives just a few doors down, who wished to remain anonymous, said her beautiful cottage garden has been ruined by the ban.  'It's dying. All I'm doing is watering my hanging baskets, that's all,' she said.  Meanwhile, just a one-minute drive down the road, a cluster of gardens governed by SES Water look fresher and less damaged.  One resident among the group confirmed she has been making good use of her hosepipe, adding: 'We use it to water the plants because we don't have a sprinkler system, so we just give it a little spritz.'  It comes after Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Cambridge Water, Southern Water, South East Water, South West Water, Thames Water and Welsh Water announced they are implementing Temporary Use Bans (hosepipe ban) – for some or all of their customers. Other European countries such as France, Portugal, Spain and Ireland have also implemented restrictions.  A dried field on Hosey Hill, Hosey Common Road, where a hosepipe ban is in place  Charts Edge (pictured) is the last house on Hosey Hill, Hosey Common Road, governed by Thames Water. If you drive further up the road, it becomes SES Water, the homeowner confirmed A house on Hosey Hill, where homeowners are currently under a hosepipe ban  Your browser does not support iframes. The hot weather has led to an unprecedented demand for water, with some companies seeing demand increase by up to a third.  Temperatures reached a peak of 35.2C in Writtle, Essex on Wednesday - the hottest of this heatwave so far.  The hot weather means river levels are lower than expected for the time of year. The River Test in Hampshire has lost a third of its water within the last month.  Hosepipe bans have been rolled out while Britain remains on high alert for 'exceptionally severe' wildfires, with more than 200 recorded in the past two weeks.  Firefighters have tackled blazes on parched crop fields in east London and Essex, which were said to be 'spreading'.  Farming leaders warned they face 'the worst harvest in years' due to successive heatwaves and are calling for more Government support. The UK is on track this year for the highest number of deaths caused by heatwaves since current figures began. A huge wildfire raging near Sizewell in Suffolk grew tenfold in just a matter of hours on Wednesday, officials said yesterday.  Hundreds of holidaymakers were evacuated as the 'out of control' blaze moved south-east, although firefighters insisted there was no risk to a nearby nuclear power station. The fire broke out near the National Trust's Coastguard Cottages on Dunwich Heath, on the Suffolk coast.  The Daily Mail has contacted SES Water and Thames Water for comment.