The remains of two villages abandoned more than 80 years ago have emerged from reservoirs hit by falling water levels during the drought.
Derwent and Ashopton have been revealed beneath Derbyshire’s Ladybower Reservoir after a summer of exceptionally low rainfall.
The villages, last exposed in 2018, were deliberately flooded during the 1940s to create the Upper Derwent Valley reservoir. The site can hold around 2,800 megalitres of water — the equivalent of more than 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Historic buildings, churches and limestone cottages disappeared beneath the water when the Derwent Valley was flooded between 1935 and 1943. The reservoir now supplies drinking water to Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester.
After a summer-long drought across Britain, the reservoir has fallen to just 32 per cent capacity, exposing long-forgotten streets, former homes, buildings and stonework.
Aerial photographs show the clear outlines of dozens of limestone cottages that once housed more than 100 people. The images offer a rare view of communities that vanished beneath the reservoir more than half a century ago.
The abandoned villages of Derwent and Ashopton have reappeared as drought affects Ladybower Reservoir (Pictured: An aerial image showing long-lost streets and foundations belonging to the villages)
The villages were deliberately flooded during the 1940s to create the Upper Derwent Valley reservoir (Pictured: Remnants of brick walls exposed as water levels fell)
The outlines of dozens of limestone cottages that once housed more than 100 people have been uncovered
A brick wall remains as a visible reminder of the villages that disappeared beneath the water more than half a century ago
The discovery comes as England’s drought crisis deepens. Ministers were secretly warned this week that reservoirs could run dry, potentially causing serious disruption for families in the run-up to Christmas.
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Record-breaking heatwaves over the summer triggered widespread drought, and some parts of England remain under hosepipe bans despite two autumn storms sweeping across the country.
Cobra, the Government’s emergency committee, is now holding crisis talks twice a week over water supplies in south-west England and Sussex.
Officials have drawn up a “reasonable worst-case scenario” in which water stocks could fall to zero per cent within weeks. Emergency plans have also been prepared for a frightening “Day Zero” situation, when reservoirs in individual areas run completely dry.
Without intervention, the crisis could leave homes without running water and disrupt construction of a nuclear power plant.
Wimbleball Reservoir, which supplies more than 400,000 people in Somerset, is currently at 13 per cent capacity. Ardingly Reservoir, serving 280,000 customers in West Sussex, stands at only 17 per cent.
Sussex and the south-west were among the regions hit hardest by the lack of rain. They recorded their driest April-to-September period in more than a century and continue to face critically low water supplies.
The discovery comes as England’s drought crisis worsens, with ministers secretly warned this week that reservoirs could run dry
Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire supplies water to Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester
Doug Clarke, Severn Trent’s water resources lead, said: “We’ve seen six months of below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures, so reservoir levels will take time to recover. However, across our region overall, we have more water stored than at this time last year.”
‘Reservoirs make up around a third of our water supplies, with the rest coming from rivers and groundwater, and our teams are continuing to work around the clock to treat more water and fix leaks at record levels.
‘But we’re also asking customers to continue using water wisely all year round, to help ensure there is always enough to go around.’