Drought latest: Warning of wildfires risk as drought hits parts of England - BBC News
The Met Office says the risk of fires spreading will be "exceptional" this weekend in large parts of England and Wales.
Farmers are demanding ministers ensure water supplies for farmers are given the same priority as those for the environment.

Supporting food production is not part of the remit of the Environment Agency, which determines where much of the country’s water supplies go, warns Tom Bradshaw, the deputy president of the National Farmers Union (NFU).

"That has to change to protect food supplies," he says and suggests government ministers may need to bring in new rules.

"Farmers recognise the importance of protecting the environment but food production needs to be given equal status," he told the BBC.

The demand comes as farms in England and parts of Wales face serious water shortages. Testimony from the NFU formed a key part of the evidence which persuaded the government to put much of England in drought.

Half the country’s potato crop cannot be irrigated so is very vulnerable to drought, the meeting of the National Drought Group, which met this morning, was told.

The NFU warned "irrigation options are diminishing with reservoirs being emptied fast". It said farmers are expecting losses of between 10% and 50% for crops including carrots, onions, sugar beet, apples and hops.

Farmers would normally be planting their rapeseed crop at this time of year.

But, says Bradshaw, conditions are so bad at the moment very few farmers are likely to plant the crop.