Pictures of Stithians Reservoir affected by drought in Cornwall

Taken early Sunday morning, the images have been sent in by Dan West from Falmouth, who used his drone from height to show the impact of weeks of hot weather.

They show large expanses of the five-mile long reservoir, which would normally be covered by water, now parched by the heat.

On Friday, a drought was declared across parts of England, including Cornwall, with July being recorded as the hottest since 1976.

There is also a heat health alert in place from the UK Health Security Agency, with advice to pay particular care to children, elderly people, and those with existing health conditions.

Images show the lack of water in the usually full reservoir Picture: Dan West

And today it was announced Cornwall will be placed under a hosepipe ban from Tuesday, August 23 to protect water, for the first time in 26 years.

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Water minister Steve Double, who is also MP for St Austell and Newquay, said last week: “We are currently experiencing a second heatwave after what was the driest July on record for parts of the country. Action is already being taken by the Government and other partners including the Environment Agency to manage the impacts.

There are now only patches of water in parts of the reservoir Picture: Dan West

“We are better prepared than ever before for periods of dry weather, but we will continue to closely monitor the situation, including impacts on farmers and the environment, and take further action as needed.”

The drought has also seen wildfires occur in Cornwall over the past few weeks, including a large blaze on the A30 near Redruth on Friday, which caused long delays and queues. There was also a fire in Camborne on Saturday, in addition to large fires at Malpas in Truro and Helford Passage last week.