As East Anglia and other parts of England were officially declared a drought zone this week, farmers have been battling through heatwaves and wildfires to deliver an exceptionally early harvest.

Elveden Estate on the Suffolk/Norfolk border made the huge investment in its new reservoir last year in order to protect its large vegetable and cereal operation during dry periods.

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Andrew Blenkiron pictured at the new £3m reservoir on the Elveden Estate as it was being built last year (Image: Sonya Duncan)

It's designed to store up to 500,000 cubic metres of water - equivalent to 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools - and is filled with water abstracted under licence from the River Lark during the wet months from November.

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The 22,500-acre estate near Thetford includes more than 10,000 acres of farmland, and is particularly vulnerable during periods of drought because of light, sandy soils.

Andrew........

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