Hosepipe bans in place since April are to be lifted by three of the UK's biggest water companies.

Thames Water, Anglian Water and Southern Water on Wednesday will formally announce the end of the restrictions which have been in place since early April.

Seven water companies across southern and eastern England brought in hosepipe bans to combat drought, after two unusually dry winters left some groundwater supplies and rivers as low as in the drought year of 1976.

But the restrictions introduced early in April were followed by record rainfall across the UK for that month, and more rain in May and the beginning of June.

A spokesman for Thames Water, the UK's largest water company with 8.8 million customers in London and the Thames Valley area, said: "We have had two-and-a-half times the average rainfall for April, we have had steady showers in May and then monsoon downpours in June. That's changed things."

A spokesman for Anglian Water said that the decision had been made because of a combination of factors combining to ease pressure on the water system. Southern Water confirmed it is lifting the restrictions in in Kent and Sussex.

The news came as heavy downpours battered Britain, with forecasters warning they are set to continue through the rest of the week. South Wales, the south of England and Northern Ireland all saw heavy showers today and temperatures struggled to get above 14C.

In its latest drought briefing last week, the Environment Agency said the wet weather had significantly reduced the risk of drought and widespread water restrictions this summer. River levels and reservoir stocks have improved significantly and further water restrictions for the public and businesses are unlikely, the government agency said.

South East Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water Southeast also have hosepipe bans remain in place. South East Water said its ban would remain in place. The others were unavailable for comment.

Gemma Plumb, forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Showers tomorrow across Wales and the South West will be quite heavy and prolonged. There are hints that further heavy and persistent rain will continue on Thursday evening and Friday morning but will not be as heavy as yesterday."