Londoner caught filling up paddling pool with public tap in park during heatwave

Up to 33million people could be hit by a hosepipe ban due to the extreme heatwave.

A Londoner has made a brazen attempt to keep cool by filling up a paddling pool using a public tap in a park.

The inflatable was spotted in St George’s Square, Pimlico, south London on Tuesday – as a four-day amber warning for extreme heat was issued from today until Sunday in the capital and across England and Wales.

A less than impressed resident tweeted Westminster City Council (WCC) to alert them to the paddling pool.

They wrote: ‘What is WCC policy on unattended swimming pools in public green spaces using water from council water taps?

‘Is this a safety risk in St George’s Square? Trees and wildlife are now under threat due to water shortages. What are the priorities?’

The council responded saying the water is for shrubs and plants only, adding: ‘We’d not advocate filling up pools or any other receptacle in our green spaces, especially in a heatwave.’

Up to 33million people could be hit by a hosepipe ban – with restrictions already imposed in the Isle of Man, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

People living in Kent and Sussex will be subject to a ban from tomorrow while Pembrokeshire and a small part of Carmarthenshire will be affected from next Thursday, August 19.

Meanwhile Thames Water, which supplies 15,000,000 people, has said it will announce restrictions ‘in the coming weeks’.

The crisis has prompted some companies to encourage people to grass up neighbours who flout rules.

Officials are poised to declare a drought in south-west England tomorrow, with residents to face a string of restrictions on domestic and commercial water use.

A terrifying map reveals how huge areas of Britain are being baked into a Sahara-like desert – with more than 60% of Europe under drought warnings.

The scorching temperatures have also caused parts of the country to become a ‘tinder box’ with major wildfires breaking out including in the capital.