Just an observation I have made since the hosepipe ban has been in force in the South.

Up until there is a change in the future, as far as I know you can still wash your car using a bucket.

However, I did an experiment the last time there was a ban using a hose with a fine spray and a bucket.

Using the bucket, it would take at least one load to wet the car all over and then, when you have washed it with car shampoo, a further three buckets to completely rinse the car, including the wheels.

Using the hose with a fine spray attached, it took two-and-a-half minutes to fill one bucket, which makes a total of ten minutes to fill the four buckets.

If you then used the hose to wash the car, you could wet it all over in 30 seconds and then rinsing would take perhaps one-and-a-half minutes.

So you would use only 20 per cent of the water required if you have to use buckets, thus saving a large amount of the precious water we all need.

As I see it, simply banning all hosepipes could actually be causing a greater use of water by people thinking they are helping when in actual fact, with the best of intentions, they are doing the opposite.

I have no objections to saving water but as most people have noticed, nobody gets a refund from the water company because they are using less.

"if you use less it costs you less".

This applies to gas, electricity and petrol. Even food comes into this category - eating less costs you less. However don't get me wrong, me and my wife are doing all we can to save and conserve water.

We save as much of the water we use for washing up and it gets poured on our garden so it will eventually soak through the chalk to be reused. The same goes for bathwater - as much as we can get out using a jug and bucket goes on the garden. It is a bit of a bind doing this but it is the way we try to make a difference.

If all who are able to do this did it, perhaps it would make a big difference.

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At approximately 9.30am, the water in South Woodingdean went off.

Although I am aware there was probably a problem, my complaint is that I tried telephoning Southern Water, holding for 15 minutes, after which I gave up. I then sent them an email to ask them what the problem was and how long were we likely to be without water.

At 1.55pm, the water came back on. At six minutes past two o'clock, the water was still running out a sandy colour.

If everyone in Woodingdean was trying to clear their taps, how much water were we wasting?

Southern Water has been extremely vociferous in telling the public what we must not do to waste this precious resource - what a pity they could not have been courteous enough to leave a message for us on the telephone or at least reply to my email.

As we had no warning, most of us were caught out without even being able to fill up a kettle.

-Mrs B Rittman, Brighton