This summer's extended spell of dry, hot weather has left crops desperate for water - either from rainfall, or irrigation supplies drawn from reservoirs, boreholes and rivers.

The Environment Agency (EA) has told farmers in the Ely Ouse catchment that voluntary restrictions have failed to maintain river flows at Denver sluices, with water levels falling well below the threshold required to allow abstraction to continue.

The ban enforced from July 5 affects around 240 growers in the catchment, which includes much of Breckland and stretches down to Newmarket and Cambridge.

Among them are Tim Young, of Grange Farm in Hockwold, near Thetford, who said the ban came without warning - and he expects a 25pc yield reduction as a result.

"Normally you get notice of a ban coming," he said. "But the real frustration for me is that there has been no notice - it means I have not been able to manage my........

© Eastern Daily Press