A wildlife group has blamed householders for helping create this year's water shortage.

Sussex Wildlife Trust said the region is facing drought conditions in autumn and winter partly because its residents have wasted so many resources.

People in the South-East use more water per head than people in any other part of the UK.

A water firm has just applied for permission to drain water from a second river in three months to cope with demand.

Dr Tony Whitbread, Sussex Wildlife Trust's conservation director, said: "The finger of guilt points back to each one of us. We use an awful lot of water.

"The richer people are, the more water they use. We need to break that link. We need to show by getting richer we can use that wealth to save resources."

This month Southern Water, which supplies water to homes in the greater part of Sussex, has requested permission to drain water from the River Western Rother at Pulborough to boost drinking supplies.

It wants to be allowed to reduce the flow of the river from 63.6 million litres to 53.6 million litres a day.

Sussex Wildlife Trust has backed that application because the drought is so serious.

Weir Wood reservoir, near East Grinstead, is only a third full. The reservoir is needed to supply people in the Crawley area.

Bewl Water reservoir near Tunbridge Wells is 46 per cent full. Darwell, near Mountfield, is 55 per cent full and Powder Mill, near Hastings, is at 52 per cent.

Dr Whitbread said: "We are in an extremely dry year. We have had very limited rainfall in winter last year and very low rainfall throughout the summer. We are having some of the driest conditions recorded.

"We also have a very large number of people with a very large per capita demand."

He said Southern Water had worked carefully to make sure its application did as little ecological damage as possible.

"They have made a very good assessment. We should hope to live with what we have got but we do understand water companies are under pressure."

Sussex Wildlife Trust will advise on the application to prevent delicate habitats being damaged by salt coming upstream with the tide and to stop silt being deposited on sensitive organisms.

The RSPB has written to the Environment Agency to express concern that the drought permit could cause fish and birds to suffer.

It said it was keen to work with Southern Water to advise on how to minimise the damage. This might include asking the firm to reinforce the river sluices to prevent salty water escaping into the RSPB's Pulborough Brooks nature reserve.

In July, Southern Water was granted permission to abstract water from the River Medway, despite potential harm to wildlife.

Hosepipes are still banned across the region.