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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Steven Morris

Rapid showers and no flushing toilets: drought pushes Lundy island to the brink

Lundy Island's manager points into the distance, standing in shallow water by a petrol pump
Matt Scantlebury, Lundy’s manager, stands in shallow water at Pondsbury pond, one of the island’s freshwater pools. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

Tom Carr was peering up at the clouds scudding around the island of Lundy, 10 miles off the coast of north Devon. “That one’s definitely got rain in it,” he said. “The mainland will be wet at the moment. And look over at Wales – it’s getting a real soaking just now.”

But above Lundy the sky was, stubbornly, blue. No significant rain has fallen here since the start of May, leading to perilously low water levels. Restrictions have been put in place, visitor numbers limited and there has been talk of the island – home to 28 people – being evacuated.

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