In what may be Wales’s answer to Atlantis, an ‘underwater village’ has been discovered amid drought conditions.

After a summer of exceptionally high temperatures, reservoirs have dried up and rivers shrunk across the UK.

Rainfall is finally on its way, and has already hit some parts of the UK, but many areas are still badly affect by the heat.

Lake Vyrnwy in Powys has become so parched that a once-underwater community has revealed itself.

A church, three pubs, several shops and 37 houses once made up the rural but bustling community of Llanwyddyn.

The site was earmarked for a reservoir project in the 1880s, with water to be directed to people in Liverpool.

Buildings were knocked down and bodies even removed from Llanwddyn’s churchyard.

Residents were moved to a new area, around two miles away, and their former village was flooded for the reservoir project.

Photos taken by the Shropshire Star have now shown what’s left of the site.

Stone walls, the remnants of a bridge and formations of homes all can be seen due to the low water conditions.

The last time its remnants was seen was during the heatwave of 1976.

Simon Baynes, now an MP, had lived at Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and recalled seeing the spectacle.

He had told the Shropshire Star: ‘Much of the old village was revealed as the water level of the lake went down dramatically. You could see an old bridge, street patterns and a large millstone.’

Lake Vyrnwy is typically 90% full over summer, but has been left near empty due to the heatwave.

Drought conditions are taking their toll across the UK, with parts of England and Wales still awaiting some much needed rain.

This morning, a hosepipe ban was announced for Cornwall and parts of Devon was announced from Tuesday next week.

‘It’s the first time in 26 years but we’ve been left with no other choice. We need to have a hosepipe ban now to protect our precious water,’ a South West Water spokesman said.

It means that at least eight million people are now under hosepipe bans, and when Thames Water announces its own as expected, 15million will be added to the list.

According to the Met Office, the UK is now set for three days of heavy rain and thunderstorms, but that may not solve the problem.

Meteorologist Dan Stroud said: ‘With the ground baked so dry, it’s very difficult for the ground to actually absorb the water very quickly.

‘So what tends to happen in these circumstances is the water runs off and we can potentially get some surface run-off issues, so some flash floods.’

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