Some welcome rain fell over Mid-Wales this weekend - but water companies say a hosepipe ban could still be on the cards later this summer with reservoir levels struggling to recover.

After a prolonged spell of dry weather the reservoir at Lake Vyrnwy is at 68% of it's capacity, over 20% below the average for the time of year, exposing large swathes of the lake bed with features of the former village of Llanwddyn now clearly visible.

Dwr Cymru, who supply homes across Mid-Wales, confirmed that reservoirs were still below what it would expect for this time of year, with June already confirmed as the hottest on record in Wales, with temperatures reaching around 31C in some parts, with just 24% of the average rainfall expected at this time of year.

Managing Director of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Peter Perry, said: "While we have seen some welcome rain in some areas in the last week, this has only had a limited effect on the level of our reservoirs. After such a lengthy period of dry weather over the past two months, we need some sustained rainfall for all of our reservoirs to return to their normal levels.

"We have been working continuously to find and repair leaks across our network, as well as pumping more than 200 million more litres of water into the network every day to ensure customers’ supplies remain as normal. "

The Met Office last week confirmed that the start to the summer has been the driest since 1961.

However United Utilities, the company who manages the Lake Vyrnwy reservoir, called off a hosepipe ban in the North-West of England, which is supplied by Vyrnwy, last month.

"Given the improved position, helped by recent rainfall, we do not want to inconvenience customers unnecessarily at this time," said Dr Martin Padley, Water Services Director at the company.

"However, the long range forecast from the Met Office is one of relatively dry weather into the autumn, so future restrictions are still a possibility if more rain doesn’t arrive. "