Bone-dry conditions are wiping out crops which could hit shoppers with higher food prices, farmers have warned. Spring crops of barley, wheat and sugar beet are all suffering damage from a lack of water after driest winter in two decades
Bone-dry conditions are wiping out crops which could hit shoppers with higher food prices, farmers have warned. Spring crops of barley, wheat and sugar beet are all suffering damage from a lack of water after driest winter in two decades
Bone-dry conditions are wiping out crops which could hit shoppers with higher food prices, farmers have warned.

In the latest stark warning, farmers have said that spring crops of barley, wheat and sugar beet are all suffering damage from a lack of water.

If the dry conditions continue over the coming month, shoppers could be facing higher food bills, according to the National Farmers Union.

Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed more than four fifths of the country's rivers are running drier than their long term average, following the driest winter in the past two decades.

The latest warning comes as:

* Fire brigades are already warning of the danger of fires breaking out on tinder-dry scrub in the countryside.

* Many reservoirs are drastically lower than expected - with some lower than in the run-up to the drought of 1995.

* Water companies are urging customers to conserve water - advising to not use hosepipes to water gardens but watering cans instead.

* Farmers yesterday said that parched conditions in April and March had hit crops hard.

If the parched conditions continue over the coming months - and a drought hits England - it could lead to more expensive food prices, the union said.

The National Farmers Union Vice President Guy Smith said: 'The situation is patchy with farmers, particularly in the South and East, reporting as low as 10 per cent of their expected March and April rainfall.

'While decent rains in May and June will put many crops back on track, some crops like spring barley have clearly already lost their full potential.

He added: 'We are growing increasingly concerned about the fruit and vegetable sector' although water sources are still available, 'albeit at lower that normal levels'.

Dry weather has also led to a shortage of grass, which is affecting beef production, the NFU said.

A spokesman said that it was too early to say whether the current weather will hit food prices, but added: 'If the situation turns to drought it could hit the consumer.'

Mark Cole, an agronomist told ITV News said western parts of the country, and Somerset in particular, are being hit hard by the dry weather.

He said: 'We've come out of a very dry winter with low rainfall and come straight into a spring with low rainfall again, and there's not enough moisture for Spring crops, particularly barley.

'It's not too late yet but we are on the cusp of Spring barley and Spring wheat being written off, it's not a good situation at the moment.

A nature charity also warned that parched rivers will spell devastation for Britain's wildlife - particularly trout and water voles.

Jonathan Jones of WWF said that 'the health of our rivers are on a knife edge, after the driest winter in two decades.

'Dry weather coupled with over abstraction means that a quarter of England's rivers are at risk from running low or dry. The Colne and Chess rivers in Hertfordshire are among many that are already dry.

'This is bad news for wildlife like trout and water vole, as, when combined with abstraction for public supplies, often means that there is not enough left in the river for wildlife to survive.'

In its long range forecast, the Met Office said it is expecting dry conditions in the south.

Meanwhile firefighters have been battling a spate of wildfires in the countryside – as many areas are bone dry having seen little rain for months
Meanwhile firefighters have been battling a spate of wildfires in the countryside – as many areas are bone dry having seen little rain for months
The Met Office said it was still too early to say with 'confidence' we will get a scorching summer but in its 30 day forecast it said 'into early June it appears more likely that high pressure will affect the United Kingdom, bringing settled and warmer weather for most'.

Water levels in some reservoirs are currently lower than they were in 1995 - when many reservoirs went on to run dry.

At Bewl Water, the biggest reservoir in the south-east, water levels are running at just 71 per cent, considerably lower than this time last year and around 20 per cent lower than average.

SouthWest Water said its Roadford reservoir, its biggest, was just 74 per cent full, compared to 93 per cent this time last year.

Levels are running lower this year than in 1995, when rainfall in June and August was the lowest in 229 years, and reservoirs later ran dry.

SouthWest water said in a statement that the reservoir levels, while currently not of urgent concern, 'reflect the dry weather we have experienced over the last six months.'

Meanwhile firefighters have been battling a spate of wildfires in the countryside - as many areas are bone dry having seen little rain for months.

In a message posted on its website Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is warning 'a carelessly discarded cigarette can lead to a huge fire, where the results to wildlife can be devastating,' as a result of the dry weather.

In Suffolk, people were evacuated from historic Southwold Golf Club in Suffolk after flames swept across gorseland and threatened the fairways and greens.

Suffolk Police and twelve fire crews rushed to the inferno as a men's golf tournament was in progress at the club, which dates back to 1884.

As dense clouds of choking smoke rolled across the course, people were evacuated safely and no-one was injured.

Club general manager Gareth Jones said there are fears it was an arson attack with a firebug taking advantage of the tinderbox-dry conditions to deliberately torch the undergrowth.

Meanwhile, in another drama, more than 30 firefighters tackled a gorse fire in the New Forest - leading thick clouds of smoke slowing traffic on the nearby A35.