Peter Edmondson, who runs Seathwaite Farm Camping, told The Telegraph the river had been “bone dry” for more than a month.

“It is very unusual for this to happen in springtime,” he said. “Everything is usually under water. It has been wall-to-wall sunshine here. Over the years, I have seen times when it has rained for three weeks solid but in the last year or two it has just got drier.”

Duncan Ellwood, the owner of the Grange Bridge Cottage Tea Shop, described the situation as "worrying" as he said the water levels were stopping boats from dropping tourists around the area, with even the shallow vessels struggling to get to their landing stages.

A Met Office spokesman said the area had seen 36 per cent rainfall in April, which is almost two-thirds less rainfall than average.

Temperatures on the west coast of England and Scotland, meanwhile, have been up to 3C higher than normal.