It’s never too late to collect your own rainwater and use it on your garden or allotment. Plants prefer rainwater over tap water because of the chemicals added to tap water at the water processing site. And, if you have a water meter you could save yourself hundreds of pounds by using collected rainwater instead of using tap water.

You can buy water butts quite cheaply from DIY stores and tap into the down spout from your gutter. The butt will come with an overflow system and a built in tap so you can use the water whenever you want.

Using collected rainwater also means that water levels in reservoirs across the UK in the summer months will not be depleted, so the chance of a hosepipe ban will be reduced.

So, do your bit for the environment and collect and use rainwater to water your plants.