This is a picture that will infuriate keen gardeners all over Sussex.

Water bosses have slapped a hosepipe ban on more than a million households in the South East. It prevents Southern Water customers from using sprinklers or hoses to water their prized blooms or wash their cars.

So property developer Gavin Baylis was astounded to see a Worthing council employee watering what is meant to be a drought-

resistant garden on the seafront.

The £50,000 "dry gardens" attracted complaints earlier this month when customers accused the water company of wasting thousands of pounds on them instead of using the money to fix leaks.

Southern Water said the gardens were part of an educational campaign to promote supply-saving tips and said they were a cost-effective way of teaching water efficiency.

It said the dry gardens only needed extra water during the planting process and then could rely entirely on direct rainfall without need for water cans or hosepipes.

Mr Bayliss, 47, a keen windsurfer, was up at 6.30am on Friday to check his computerised weather station. It is linked to a video camera which beams live pictures of the seafront to his home in Anscombe Road, Worthing.

It overlooks one of the water saving gardens.

Mr Bayliss said: "I checked the video camera and saw this guy watering the plants with a hose and spray.

"The hosepipe was attached to a standpipe on the promenade. I went over and asked him if he minded me taking some pictures of him watering the plants."

His partner Elaine Deed, added: "I said to him that I thought there was supposed to be a hosepipe ban. He said he was doing it to get the plants established and that the hose was on a water meter so the council would be paying for it.

"He did say that it made him smile when his bosses asked him to go and water a drought garden."

The garden was jointly paid for by Southern Water and Worthing Borough Council when it was planted last year.

A Southern Water spokesman said: "Using a hosepipe by the council is not illegal under the current restrictions.

"However, we would remind councils and their contractors to be aware of the current water restrictions on our customers."

Chris Bradley, Worthing's parks and foreshore manager, said the plants needed watering for the first year until they became established. They were watered early in the morning to avoid evaporation.