The hosepipe ban was introduced on Saturday, July 11, for parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. It prohibits the use of hosepipes for watering gardens, cleaning private vehicles, or filling or maintaining swimming pools, paddling pools and hot tubs. The ban is the first in the region since 2012 and followed weeks of extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 35C. "We won’t lift the ban until we’re confident that we’ve had enough rain for river and reservoir levels to improve to healthy levels, to protect the environment." The longest UK hosepipe ban on record lasted more than 400 days in 1990.