LEEDS North West MP Alex Sobel has criticised water companies following the announcement of a hosepipe ban in Yorkshire.

A hosepipe ban has been announced for Yorkshire commencing on August 26. People will not be able to water a garden with a hose, clean a private vehicle with a hose or fill a domestic swimming pool.

Alex Sobel who is also Labour’s shadow minister for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment has spoken out against the ban, saying that Yorkshire Water need to take responsibility for significant leaks in their infrastructure.

The MP for Leeds North West said “Yorkshire Water lose 304 megalitres of water per day from their old and under-invested pipes. Over the last three years, 117 litres of water per household have been wasted every day as a result of leaky pipes across the water network. This is the equivalent of over two washing machine cycles or a bath and a half of wasted water every day for every UK household.

"Rather than imposing this hosepipe ban, Yorkshire Water should have a plan to fix leaky pipes, look at covering technology and plan a moratorium on reservoir sales.

"We must see at Governmental level, the necessary steps made to regulate this vital infrastructure.”