A water company told customers to snitch on any neighbours they see "ignoring" next week's hosepipe ban.
South East Water provided contact details on its website for Brits who suspected their neighbour were breaching the regulations.
The firm said it would "take the appropriate action" if residents were "ignoring, knowingly or unknowingly, the restrictions in place".
Under a separate subheading on how it planned to enforce the ban, it added: "We will certainly look into cases where people tell us about hosepipe and sprinkler use."
The warning came after millions of customers in Kent and Sussex were told to restrict their use of hosepipes and sprinklers from August 12.
It's unclear how long the ban would be in force as the firm's website stated: "until further notice".
Anyone caught flouting the ban could be fined up to £1,000, South East Water said.
Southern Water also announced a hosepipe ban, while other firms had so far held off bringing in restrictions, despite low water levels, though some said they may need to implement bans if the dry weather continued.
Months of little rainfall and the recent heatwave have left rivers at exceptionally low levels, have depleted reservoirs, and left soil very dry. It's put further pressure on the environment, farming, and water supplies, and raised the risk of wildfires.
Parts of England have seen the driest July since records dating back to 1836, following the driest eight-month period from November 2021 for the country since 1976.
Water firms across England and Wales, which leak about 3.1 billion litres of water a day from their networks, are required to have plans for ensuring sufficient water supplies, including cutting down on leaks, encouraging customers to use water wisely and imposing hosepipe bans in drought.
Householders who have not yet been hit by restrictions are being urged to avoid using hosepipes for watering the garden or cleaning the car.
But water companies have been criticised by nature campaigners for leaving it to "the last possible moment" to bring in restrictions, when rivers are in a "desperate" state, and for last-minute announcements that spur an increase in water demand before hosepipe bans come in.
Mark Lloyd, chief executive of The Rivers Trust, said: "Every year we get to this perilous position and at the last possible moment, when the rivers are at their lowest, we get discussion of temporary use bans.
"Announcing it at the last minute causes people to rush to wash their cars and fill their paddling pools, wash the dog, and causes an increase in demand before the ban comes in.
"This should happen before the rivers come to a desperate condition and there's not enough water for wildlife."
In a statement on its website, South East Water said: "During July in the South East, we have only seen eight per cent of average rainfall for the month, and the long-term forecast for August and September is for similar weather.
"The demand for water this summer has broken all previous records, including the Covid lockdown heatwave. We have been producing an additional 120 million litres of water a day to supply our customers, which is the equivalent of supplying a further four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne, daily."
The company said it had been left with "no choice" but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers.
"We are taking this step to ensure we have enough water for both essential use and to protect the environment.
"This will enable us to also reduce the amount of water we need to take from already stressed local water sources."
