Scots have been urged to "consider how they use water" as reservoir levels plummet and usage spikes.

The ongoing dry, hot weather has seen a 20 per cent spike in domestic water usage, requiring Scottish Water to increase supply.

The organisation said it had put in an extra 150 million litres per day over the past two weeks, equivalent to 75 Olympic-sized swimming pools or 1.8 million baths.

As a result average reservoir levels across Scotland are down 3% from last week to 77%. The average for this time of year is 87% and this time last year levels were at 87%.

Scots are being asked to take measures to save water, including letting grass go brown, taking shorter showers, turning off the tap when brushing teeth, using dishwashers and washing machines only when fully loaded and using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose to wash the car.

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Kes Juskowiak, Scottish Water’s General Manager of Customer Water Services, said: “The dry weather has seen an increase in customer use and an additional 150 million litres of water consistently having to be distributed per day into our network.

“We’re working hard to maintain normal supplies for all but would again ask that customers consider how they use water and to protect this precious resource.

“We believe that a large part of the additional water use is within gardens so we would ask that customers are mindful of how much water they use in outdoor spaces such as lawns.

“One tip would be for customers to let their garden lawns go brown during the dry weather because its appearance will be temporary and it will recover, but not watering lawns will help save significant amounts of water.

“Water is always worth saving, so we would ask everyone to do all they can in and around the home and garden to help us keep water flowing normally to their taps. By taking simple steps to reduce the volume used around the home and garden, we can make our country’s water go even further.”