The 11 people reported so far for flouting the hosepipe restrictions in Oxfordshire may have been unaware that such a ban was in place.

At this early stage, we will give them the benefit of the doubt.

But with all the publicity the ban has been given, there will soon be no excuse for not observing it.

To its credit, Thames Water is planning a softly, softly approach, taking court action only as a last resort if warnings are ignored.

There may be some argument over the company's decision to rely on neighbours to report people they see using hosepipes and sprinklers.

But it would clearly be a waste of resources to recruit squads of 'detectives' to catch offenders.

Since the ban was imposed last week, we seem to have had nothing but rain, and some people will no doubt argue we have had enough of the stuff to render the restrictions unnecessary.

But we hope that everyone will play the game. Despite recent rainfall, water remains short, and if we have a dry summer, the last thing we want to see is standpipes in the street later in the year.

Much as we love our gardens, they must take second place to human needs.

In the long term, we need to think seriously about how we are going to meet the ever-increasing demand for water.

With thousands more homes planned in Oxfordshire and other parts of the South East, the problems can only get worse.

In the meantime, a little sacrifice now may ease the pain later.