Pair bring 50 litres of 'legal hosepipe water' from Brighton to help London gardeners get through the drought

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:10, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 12:19, 12 August 2026 Two men travelled more than 100 miles to bring 50 litres of 'legal hosepipe water' to London to help out gardeners struggling amid this summer's drought – enough to water one square metre for a week. George Lazarides, 30, and Joe Patten, 27, took 25 two-litre bottles of water from Brighton to London – a 51-mile one-way trip – by car on Monday. The pair, from the capital, set up outside Croxted Road Garden Centre and Stockwell station to hand out the water, which they had labelled 'legal hosepipe water'. Unlike Brighton, around ten million homes in London have been under a hosepipe ban since July 23 2026, and gardens are only set to get drier this week as the UK enters yet another heatwave. Mr Lazarides and Mr Patten inexplicably decided to travel more than 100 miles by car to retrieve the water for gardeners. According to Gardeners' World, a single square metre of vegetable garden needs up to 50 litres of water each week during dry weather. A lawn requires up to 30 litres per square metre per week, while a flowerbed requires up to 25l. The pair said they decided to take action as a 'point' against water companies enforcing what they called 'unfair bans'. George Lazarides (pictured), 30, and Joe Patten, 27, took 25 two-litre bottles of water from Brighton to London - a 51-mile one-way trip - by car on Monday The pair, from the capital, set up outside Croxted Road Garden Centre and Stockwell station to hand out the water Mr Lazarides and Mr Patten inexplicably decided to travel more than 100 miles by car to retrieve the water - which is enough to water one square metre of vegetable garden for a week Drought has been declared for all of Wales and almost three-quarters of England – and a sixth heatwave of the year is on the way this week with 38C (100F) highs.  Some 45 million people are in drought-stricken areas, and 27 million customers are under hosepipe bans put in place by nine firms as rivers and reservoirs run dangerously low. Parts of southern England including Hampshire and West Sussex have now gone 60 days without rainfall, and there are no downpours in the immediate forecast. Some areas received just 1 per cent of average July rainfall last month. Farmers have warned of a 'brutal harvest' for crops and a lack of feed for livestock, and there have been warnings of food price inflation shocks later in the year as a searing summer across Europe feeds through from fields to supermarket shelves. Mr Lazarides, who works in advertising, said: 'We saw that in London there is a hosepipe ban and in Brighton there is not, but the whole country is drought-ridden. 'We wanted to make a point against the water companies on unfair bans and we also wanted to help Londoners and to try to ensure that they could look after their gardens and their green spaces properly. 'It was partly a joke and partly trying to be helpful. It is strange, one county has a hosepipe ban and another doesn't.' Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Mr Lazarides drove down on Sunday night to Brighton with Mr Patten and filled up 25 bottles containing 50 litres of water using their friend's hosepipe in Brighton. They then travelled 51 miles back to London – again by car – on Monday and handed it out. Mr Lazarides said: 'We got a good response so we will definitely do it again. We knew that there was going to be another heatwave coming. And so we wanted to respond to that. 'When we spoke to people and gardeners they were saying how frustrated they were with the hosepipe ban.' Nine water companies have imposed hosepipe bans across the UK, with restrictions meaning hosepipes can't be used for watering gardens, washing cars, allotments, filling paddling pools or swimming pools, or cleaning windows without an exemption. Water companies implement them to ensure enough water is saved for drinking, those who are vulnerable and for essential use. Anyone breaking the rules could be fined up to £1,000. It comes as the UK is set to bake in another heatwave which will peak on Thursday. The Met Office has issued a rare 15-hour amber 'extreme heat' warning for southern and central England from 9am tomorrow – only its second such alert in four years. The whole of England has also been put under an amber heat health alert by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) until Friday night, which warns of a 'rise in deaths'. A 38C (100F) high tomorrow would make it Britain's joint fifth hottest day on record – tying with that same temperature in Norfolk on June 26, which is the current 2026 high. It comes as a firefighter union chief warned Britain faces a 'national emergency' amid ongoing wildfires, with the country on course for its hottest summer on record. The mean temperature for the summer so far, from June 1 to yesterday, stands at 16.48C – which is 1.88C above the 1991 to 2020 average, provisional data shows. Prime Minister Andy Burnham will chair an emergency Cobra committee this afternoon on the extreme heat, and is said to be considering a ban on disposable barbecues.