Ayrshire's gardeners are being urged to be efficient while watering their plants and lawns to save water amidst the heatwave.

Scottish Water has issued the warning as it fears supply shortages, as the dry weather has seen an extra 150 million litres of water distributed per day over the last two weeks.

Average reservoir levels across the country have decreased by three per cent from last week to 77 per cent and are now 10 per cent below the usual rate of 87 per cent for this time of year.

To save water, the organisation has even called on garden owners to “let their lawns go brown” and dry out for the season.

Scottish Water’s general manager of customer water services, Kes Juskowiak, said: “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.”

Scottish Water is also calling on Scots to make small changes to their lifestyles to help conserve the resource, asking people to take shorter showers and turn the tap off when brushing their teeth.

It has also reminded people to only use washing machines and dishwashers when fully loaded and use a bucket and sponge rather than a hose to wash their cars.

The tips and reminders come as part of Scottish Water’s 'Water is always worth saving' campaign which launched just this week.

Through the campaign, Scots are encouraged to be concious of the importance of water, be more aware of how much water they use and make small changes to their lifestyles to conserve the resource.

To find out more about the campaign, visit: www.yourwateryourlife.co.uk/campaign/water-is-always-worth-saving.