Lancashire residents are at no risk of having any restrictions imposed on water use, United Utilities declared today.

Much of the South is suffering a lack of water and one company has imposed a drought order for the first time in a decade.

But United Utilities, the firm which manages the North West's water network, said its reservoirs were at 92 per cent capacity.

The company put the news down to investment in the network and the amount of rainfall there has been in the North West this year.

But despite the healthy supply, bosses at United Utilities have told water companies in the South to forget about taking any of Lancashire's water to help them.

They want to keep a tight grip on its supplies, just in case.

And today bosses were still urging householders in East Lancashire to continue to watch the amount of water they use.

A spokesman said: "The reason there is such a North-South divide in water resources at present is that we have had more rain on average here in the North West.

"Also, most of our water supplies are collected in open reservoirs which tend to fill up relatively quickly after rainfall.

"By comparison, the water companies in the south rely much more on underground water sources which take longer to replenish as rainwater has to soak deep into the ground."

According to the water firm, the average person uses about 150 litres per day, of which 55-60 per cent is from toilet flushing, baths or showers. The rest is for washing clothes, preparing food and watering the garden.

One of the biggest ways to waste water is to run a sprinkler for an hour.

The firm says this is equivalent to the total daily consumption of a family of four.

Last week England's first drought order in a decade was imposed in the South East, banning the use of non-essential use of water.

In 1996 United Utilities constructed a 26km super-main' which can carry 100 million litres of water a day and runs from Prescot to Wigan.

This pipe effectively links reservoirs in North Wales to the Pennines and the Lake District, allowing water to be transferred around the region to where it is needed.