Aldi is rationing water
Aldi also last month put rations on bottled water sales during Britain’s first scorcher of the summer (Picture: Dinendra Haria / LNP)

Aldi temporarily rationed bottled water after the UK started announcing hosepipe bans and a drought was declared in parts of England.

One branch in London put up signs today saying it was only allowing people to purchase three multipacks each in a bid to stem panic buying.

The poster said: ‘Limits are necessary for supporting you and your neighbours to find the products you need.’

One sign said purchases of water multipacks were limited three, while another poster said single bottles had a cap of five per customer.

The store has since removed the notices and it is understood Aldi has no national limit on the sale of bottled water or intends to introduce a rationing policy.

Supermarkets have the right to introduce limits on items in stores at the discretion of managers.

They are usually imposed by individual stores as a result of high demand and not automatically rolled out across a chain’s branches.

Aldi last month placed limits on bottled water sales when record-busting 40°C highs.

Asda and Sainsbury’s have confirmed they have no limits on the number of bottles people can buy.

Aldi is rationing bottled water sales
Shoppers are stocking up amid Britain’s second heatwave (Picture: Dinendra Haria / LNP)

In more restrictions, Yorkshire Water became the fifth company in England and Wales to announce a hosepipe ban for its five million customers. 

Southern Water, South East Water, Welsh Water and Thames Water have all announced hosepipe bans either now or in the coming weeks, while South West Water and Severn Trent have all indicated they will also bring in restrictions.

Together, the bans would cover more than 32 million people.

Aldi is rationing bottled water sales
The sales squeeze came as a drought was officially announced for England (Picture: Dinendra Haria / LNP)
Parched grass on Parker's Piece in Cambridge, as a drought has been declared for parts of England following the driest summer for 50 years. Picture date: Friday August 12, 2022. PA Photo. A four-day amber warning for extreme heat from the Met Office is in place for much of England and Wales until Sunday, with warnings of health impacts and disruption to travel
Parched grass on Parker’s Piece in Cambridge as Britain goes from green to brown (Picture: PA)

Temperatures today were expected to climb to 35°C, making the country hotter than parts of the Caribbean, with the heat threatening crops including potatoes, apples, hops, broccoli and sprouts. 

Residents in London, the South West, Southern and Central England and East of England have been moved into drought status where they are being urged to be frugal with water due to Britain’s driest summer in 50 years, with no rain and 37°C forecast tomorrow and 35°C on Sunday.

The official drought declaration does not automatically trigger legal limits on water use in the eight areas of England named today.

It will pile more pressure on more water companies to ban customers from using hosepipes and sprinklers.

Washing cars with buckets of water from the tap could also soon be outlawed.

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