Drought exposes the ruins of two Derbyshire villages that were deliberately flooded more than 80 years ago to create Ladybower Reservoir

Ladybower Reservoir has fallen to just 32 per cent capacity after six months of below-average rainfall, leaving the streets of Derwent and Ashopton exposed. The stone foundations of scores of limestone cottages, which once housed more than 100 residents, have reappeared for the first time since 2018. An old pump house still stands upright in the mud. Ministers have reportedly been warned that reservoirs could run dry before Christmas.

The Derwent Valley was flooded between 1935 and 1943 to supply Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester.

Ashopton was once home to its own pubs, a toll house and the grand Derwent Hall.

Severn Trent's Doug Clarke warned that reservoir levels 'will take time to recover'.