A winter drought is threatening to put Sussex under the toughest water restrictions in a decade.

In a move normally associated with a scorching summer, thousands face hosepipe bans as one of the driest winters on record is predicted.

The Environment Agency has warned that replenishing rivers and reservoirs could take several more months of wet weather.

To prevent supplies running dry, the agency has warned that hosepipe bans could be needed in winter for the first time in ten years.

It is also trying to persuade people to take showers instead of baths to cut water demand.

Despite rainstorms during the last two months, Sussex is still in the throes of drought. The agency says managing water supplies next year could be the biggest test for water companies in decades.

Southern Water said 50 per cent more rainfall than average was needed each month until March 2006 to restore reservoir levels and underground water resources.

By the end of September, Weir Wood Reservoir, which supplies the area around Crawley, was only one third full. Bewl Water Reservoir, which supplies much of Sussex, was about half full.

A spokesman said: "October and, so far, November have seen more rainfall than the same period last year but the previous 11 months have been the driest November to September for more than a quarter of a century.

"Less than three-quarters of the average rainfall fell during an exceptionally dry year, leaving rivers with low flows and groundwater levels approaching long-term minimum levels.

"The Met Office's forecast suggests that the winter months will be the coldest in the last decade and could be drier than average.

"But a repeat of last winter's low rainfall could lead to a serious drought next summer. This could cause widespread environmental damage and lead to restrictions on water use."

If the winter remains dry, water restrictions would be needed to protect wildlife habitats in streams and rivers.

South East Water introduced a hosepipe ban in July for its customers in East and West Sussex, affecting 268,000 households.

At the same time, Southern Water extended its existing ban. That effectively meant a ban, still in force, on all hosepipe and sprinkler use across the county.

Sussex's last hosepipe ban into the winter was enforced from August 1995 through to October 1996.

Ian Barker, the Environment Agency's head of water resources, has said he feared customers did not often make the link between water that came from the tap and water in rivers. He urged people to take showers instead of baths and not use hoses.

Increased rainfall in the South East Water region over the last months has helped raise reservoir levels at Ardingly to 44 per cent and Arlington to 47 per cent capacity. But the company said much more rain was needed.

Dr Richard Sturt, southern chairman of the Consumer Council for Water, said short-term restrictions on water use were acceptable if that meant households would have uninterrupted supplies in summer.

But he said any long-term rationing of domestic water supplies would be a breach of customers' entitlement.

He said: "It is vital these warning signs are taken seriously. We have very serious concerns about the long-term implications of increasing water demand and the impact this will have on the region's finite water resources.

"This is a warning to water companies that increasing resources is an absolute must."