Britain’s heatwave is showing no signs of stopping as sunseekers enjoyed the hottest day of the year so far, making parts of the country hotter than Athens and Rio de Janeiro.
Families packed out beaches and parks this afternoon as the country enjoys the first of what experts believe will be eight heatwaves set to roast the UK this summer.
Commuters face a battle getting to work and back home this week, as motorways melted under the heat and rail providers warned of speed restrictions amid concerns that tracks will buckle in the sweltering conditions.
South Western Railway customers are facing four days of disruption as it warned that passengers travelling through London’s major transport hub at Waterloo would be delayed by the restrictions.
Heatwave temperatures also caused chaos for motorists on the M5 as a newly-surfaced road failed to set, closing the motorway in one direction at Weston-Super-Mare, North Somerset, with one lane to remain shut all day.
Health officials have warned families about the dangers of swimming in open water as the frantic search resumed this morning for a boy, 13, who has been missing from Westport Lake in Staffordshire since yesterday afternoon.
It comes as two people drowned yesterday while cooling down during the hottest day of the year so far.
A man in his thirties died after getting into difficulty while swimming 300 feet from the shore at a lake near Merstham, Surrey, while a woman also drowned at Eastbourne beach in East Sussex.
Five friends enjoy a soak in the pool at Hathersage swimming pool, in Derbyshire, with the cool water providing relief from the summer rays
The Poppy Sanctuary Garden at Bristol Zoo today, which commemorates the centenary of the end of the First World War
People relax in the sunshine on the beach in Brighton, Sussex, a favourite hotspot for sunseekers throughout the summer
Sunworshippers arrived at Bournemouth beach first thing this morning to catch some early rays ahead of a sweltering day across the UK
People cool off by jumping into The Manchester Ship Canal from Detroit Bridge, a popular site for tombstoning on hot days
Commuters on a packed tube train deal with high temperatures during a hot day in London, with temperatures set to soar throughout the week
A woman relaxes in the morning sunshine on the beach in Brighton, Sussex, as temperatures are predicted to increase this week
Freeze! Two police officers on horseback take a break from duty to pay for an ice cream in Liverpool city centre (pictured)
People cool off with a swim at Hathersage swimming pool in Derbyshire this afternoon as the country experiences a heatwave
Ladies relax in the sunshine on the beach in Brighton, which will be teeming with sunworshippers for the rest of the week
A group of friends make the most of the incredibly hot weather in Cambridge by renting out a punt on the River Cam
Chris Bryant from Basingstoke paddle boards at Boscombe Beach in Dorset, as temperatures are predicted to increase today
Roses grow wild along the seafront at Studland in Dorset, where temperatures rocketed and families enjoyed days out at sea
A visitor to Bournemouth beach shields her eyes from the scorching sun as she works on her tan during a week of hot weather
The golden sands of Bournemouth beach were filled with people hoping to make the most of the extremely hot weather
Victor the polar bear enjoys a dip in the water today at Yorkshire Wildlife Park as the mercury creeps up day by day this week
Bournemouth beach was filled with morning sunbathers (pictured). The Met Office’s heat-health watch alert is currently at level two, meaning social and healthcare services are at the ready to reduce harm from a potential heatwave
Tourists and students enjoy the hot weather by the the River Cam in Cambridge, as temperatures continue to increase
Merseyside is likely to enjoy the hottest weather on Tuesday, the Met Office said, with highs of 31C (87.8F) forecast, and possibly even 32C (91F)
Tourists and Londoners enjoy hot weather and sunshine in St James Park in Westminster, where many people enjoyed a warm lunch break
A roaming cow was among the visitors to the River Cam this afternoon, as the mercury edges ever close to the 30C mark
Britain’s heatwave is showing no signs of stopping (sunbathers in Bournemouth this morning) with temperatures of up to 91F (32C) on the way today, making parts of the country hotter than Athens and Rio de Janeiro
A reflection of the Port of Liverpool Building under blue skies seen in a glass building, as Britain’s heatwave shows no signs of abating
A pavement in Edinburgh has buckled due to the heat. Shoppers in Leith in Edinburgh looked on as the pavement began to buckle and rise up and form a ridge
Coastguards, paramedics and police were called to the beach near the resort’s Western Parade after the victim was pulled from the water and onto the beach by rescuers who saw that she was in trouble.
An ambulance crew was escorted onto the beach and tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the woman who was certified dead at the scene.
Her body was transferred from the beach to a lifeboat which had been launched to assist and she was taken to the nearby lifeboat station.
The coroner’s officer was also sent to the scene and the victim, who has not yet been named, was taken by road to the mortuary at Eastbourne District General Hospital.
It is the second death this week, after a man drowned in a lake in Surrey when the freezing cold water was believed to have affected his limbs which left him struggling in the water.
Passers-by called for help after seeing the swimmer in trouble prompting an emergency services to descend on the pretty lake to try to rescue the man.
People on the banks of the River Tweed in Peebles enjoy the hot weather (left), while toddler Tom Grosvenor steals ice cream from his mum Catherine (right)
Two sunbathers secure a prime spot on Bournemouth beach this morning. Health officials have warned families about the dangers of swimming in open water after two people died yesterday
It was already up to 25C in Bournemouth (pictured) before midday. Parts of the UK are currently hotter than Athens in Greece, and on a par with Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Rio in Brazil
People relax on the beach at Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, with families enjoying the great outdoors thanks to some fine weather
Brighton beach was among the country’s seaside locations were sunworshippers flocked to today as Britain enjoyed yet another scorcher of a day
A dog walker treats his pets to an early morning stroll on Bournemouth beach, with owners warned about keeping their pets inside cars this week
One sunbather soaks up the rays in St James’ Park, Westminster. Following the hottest day of the year so far, Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna told MailOnline today is set to get even hotter
Forecasters issued a health warning for heatwave conditions from 9am today until 6pm on Thursday with the young and elderly advised to avoid direct sunlight without protection (pictured: the heat rises in Bournemouth)
Firefighters (pictured) are still at the scene of a large fire on Saddleworth Moor between Stalybridge and Dovestones, which spread overnight
Search resumes for missing 13-year-old boy who was last seen in ‘distress’ in a lake – as 91F heatwave claims two lives in separate swimming tragedies
Emergency crews have this morning resumed the search at Westport Lake in north Staffordshire this morning
A search has resumed this morning for a missing 13-year-old boy who was seen ‘in distress’ while playing in a lake on the hottest day of the year.
Police said two other boys, one aged 12 and the other aged 13, were also spotted in difficulty in Westport Lake in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, but were able to make their way safely out the water.
Emergency crews began searching the lake this morning at 8am after it was called off late last night die to fading light.
An police helicopter was also involved in the search yesterday after emergency services were called to the scene at 4.50pm.
It came as the heatwave, which is set to reach 91F this week, claimed two lives in two separate swimming tragedies elsewhere in Britain.
In Eastbourne, East Sussex, a woman drowned in the sea and at a lake in Nutfield, Surrey, a man in his 30s died after he struggled in the ice cold water.
Staffordshire Police said today that they had resumed the search for the missing child in Westport Lake.
Police said the identities of the children are known to them and officers are in contact with the parents.
Yesterday police were called to Mercer’s Lake in Nutfield, Surrey, at 6.30pm when eyewitnesses spotted a man getting into difficulties in the water.
He was said to be 100 metres from the edge of the lake when he started to struggle in the freezing water.
Yesterday police were called to Mercer’s Lake in Nutfield, Surrey, at 6.30pm when eyewitnesses spotted a man getting into difficulties in the water
A search was launched, including Surrey Fire and Rescue Service’s water search team and Surrey Search and Rescue, and his body was found by a team of divers from rescue service Specialist Group International at 9.20pm.
The victim has not yet been named and police said they are working to contact his next of kin. A post mortem is expected to be carried out in due course.
In Eastbourne police are investigating the death of a woman who drowned while swimming in the sea.
Coastguards, paramedics and police were called to the beach near the resort’s Western Parade after the victim was pulled from the water and onto the beach by rescuers who saw that she was in trouble.
An ambulance crew was escorted onto the beach and tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the woman who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her body was transferred from the beach to a lifeboat which had been launched to assist and she was taken to the nearby lifeboat station.
Commuters face a battle to get to work on time this week, as motorways melted under the heat and rail providers warned of speed restrictions amid concerns that tracks will buckle in the sweltering conditions
However, he was seen to slip beneath the surface and failed to come up again. His body was retrieved almost three hours later by specialist dive crews using underwater sonar devices to search for him.
Forecasters issued a health warning for heatwave conditions from 9am today until 6pm on Thursday with the young and elderly advised to avoid direct sunlight without protection.
The Met Office’s heat watch alert is currently at level two, meaning that there is an 80 per cent chance of temperatures which could be a risk to health, with social and healthcare services on standby.
And it seems the UK could be in for plenty more hot weather over the next few months – with forecasters from AccuWeather saying Britain is ‘looking at a range of five to eight more spells we would call heatwaves’.
The sunshine caused a large moor fire in Saddleworth which could be seen 15 miles away in Manchester, and even sparked up two shed fires a short drive away from the moor which had to be tackled by firefighters.
The Trades Union Congress has urged bosses to ensure staff working outdoors are protected from the hot weather as UV levels are set to soar.
Pictured are queues to get to the Tube at Paddington this morning. Commuters face a battle to get to work on time this week, as rail providers warned of speed restrictions amid concerns that tracks will buckle in the sweltering conditions
Emergency crews have this morning resumed the search at Westport Lake in north Staffordshire this morning
Commuters wait for a South Western Railway train today ahead of possible speed restrictions due to fears over track buckling
The blaze is still raging on Saddleworth Moor this morning, with people in the surrounding villages warned to stay indoors to avoid the large amounts of smoke drift
Firefighters on the scene of the massive blaze at Saddleworth Moor this morning. The damage caused by the blaze, which took hold on Sunday, can be seen across the landscape
The weather is causing transport problems with trains between London’s Waterloo and New Malden to be slowed after 11am each day until Friday to reduce the risk of buckling in the heat.
Following the hottest day of the year so far, Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna told MailOnline today is set to get even hotter.
He said: ‘Today we could see up to 87.8F (31C) in parts, likely to be across the midlands.
‘There will be a slight south easterly breeze just cooling the temperatures in the south west. There is going to be lots of sunshine with bits of patchy cloud far north with low clouds of the North Sea coasts.’
Looking ahead to tomorrow, he said the country could expect the same high temperatures and blue skies with highs of up to 88F (31C) in the shade. Mr Petagna warned there could be thundery showers towards the weekend.
Police are forced to break into ‘blazing hot’ car to rescue two dogs
These dramatic pictures show the moment police officers broke into a ‘blazing hot’ car to free two sweltering dogs.
The two officers at the scene said they could feel the heat coming from the car during their rescue operation – and said even they were ‘struggling to breathe’ because of the scorching weather.
The Labrador-type dogs had been left in the vehicle in York city centre for a staggering 30 minutes yesterday. The cops were left with no option but to smash the window of the car to get to the dogs.
They were then taken in by the local RSPCA where they were given cool baths. The RSPCA has indicated their intention to prosecute the owners.
In a tweet, North Yorkshire Police said: ‘There is no excuse for this, I am utterly appalled. Officers were in that car for thirty seconds and were struggling to breathe so goodness knows what these poor animals were going through.’
These dramatic pictures show the moment police officers broke into a ‘blazing hot’ car to free two sweltering dogs in York city centre
The two Labrador-type dogs were then taken in by the local RSPCA where they were given cool baths. The RSPCA has indicated their intention to prosecute the owners
This beautiful photograph this morning was taken by a train commuter on her way from Cornwall to Devon
The morning sun reflects off the River Thames in London today, with the City’s skyscrapers seen in the background
Specialist teams from Staffordshire Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service are searching the lake
A beautiful sunrise over Brenford Dock in West London this morning as Britain prepares for another scorching hot day
‘Into the weekend, Saturday night and Sunday, we could start to see a few thundery showers in the south west. If we get thunder, there could be heavy rainfall,’ he said.
But still this would not halt the predicted heatwaves, with temperatures and sunshine set to return into next week.
This comes after a warm night in the capital with those in London struggling to sleep with temperatures hovering around 64F (18C).
He said it was much cooler out towards the countryside with lows of 48F (9C) recorded in Surrey and even down to 36F (2C) or 67f (3C) in Scotland and 45F (7C) in Exeter, Devon.
‘We are hotter than Bali, Ibiza and Lisbon at the moment and we are warmer than Athens in Greece where they are currently facing unsettled weather with warnings of flash flooding,’ Mr Petagna said.
The top temperature yesterday was 86.2F (30.1C) at Hampton in South West London, making it the hottest day of the year so far – but Mr Petagna said today would feel even warmer than that in the sunshine.
Explaining why people at home might measure higher heats, he explained: ‘We measure the temperatures in the shade. If you measure in the sun it will be markedly much higher, the shade gives us a better widespread representation.’
The moor blaze began on the hills between Dove Stone Reservoir and Carrbrook in Tameside at 8.20pm on Sunday and was quickly brought under control – but then started again yesterday due to the heat and light winds.
A fire crew and two wildfire units were at the scene in the remote area of countryside this afternoon, and workers in Manchester told how they could see the plumes of smoke from their office windows.
The scorching weather caused a section of pavements in Edinburgh to rise up and bend. Stunned shoppers at Leith’s Newkirkgate Shopping Centre saw part of the pavement suddenly began to warp, give way and rise.
Trains were grounded to a halt in Scotland after railroads buckled under the immense heat in Wishaw near Glasgow.
Yesterday’s top temperature broke the previous 2018 record of 84.4F (29.1C) which was set at St James’s park on April 19.
GWR said damage can be caused when trains speed over the metal of the rails after it expands in the heat. By slowing down the trains, rails have less force going through them – and so are not as likely to be damaged.
Patients accuse medical centre of ‘health and safety gone mad’ after staff remove water cooler over fears people will slip despite 91F heatwave
A medical centre was today accused of ‘health and safety gone mad’ after staff removed a water cooler during the heatwave over fears people would slip.
Bosses have claimed water spilt around the fountain in the area accessible to the public at Central Canvey Primary Care Centre in Essex could pose a slip hazard.
Patients must now ask staff for a drink of water instead, despite temperatures soaring to 86F (30C) in Britain yesterday, and possibly reaching 91F (33C) this week.
The site where the water fountain once stood at Central Canvey Primary Care Centre in Essex
Local councillor Janice Payne, from Castle Point Borough Council, urged the health centre to change its mind, saying: ‘Of course this is health and safety gone mad.
‘If they have had spillages then they should put a sign up that says there is a risk of wet floors due to water being splashed about. I mean, what will happen next?
‘People are going to want a drink of water. I think this will also tie up the receptionists’ time as they will have to be handing out water to patients.’
Local resident Charlie Davy, who first spotted the ban, said: ‘There was a notice about this pinned up at the notice board near where blood tests are taken.
A sign about the fountain’s removal, which has been blasted as ‘health and safety gone mad’
‘A woman at the reception said she would always offer water to those who asked. Like always it’s the generals behind the scenes making the bullets for those on the front line to fire and receive flak.
‘Believe it or not I was told children that use the machines splash water on the floor and the powers that be are fearful of people slipping over. The old health and safety card.’
Outside the primary care centre today, people spoke of their surprise at the water machine ban. Jeanette Jones, 67, said: ‘It’s the snowflake generation at it again.
‘It’s health and safety gone mad. I didn’t even realise the machine had been removed but it does not surprise me.
The centre in Essex defended the policy, saying that the safety of all visitors is ‘paramount’
‘It is over the top to remove it, especially when the weather is so hot.
‘Some health and safety makes sense but this is totally over the top – probably off the back of a few kids spilling a bit of water.’
There was no sign of the water machine inside the centre’s reception area this morning.
Harry King, 84, said: ‘I was here to get my blood pressure done so had to wait for five minutes to let my pressure settle so I went to get some water but did not see the machine so just assumed it was broken.
Drinking water can be requested by visitors at the primary care centre’s reception
‘I guess someone might slip but it’s a bit unlikely. It’s really hot outside so I would have thought they would be trying to make sure everyone had some water.’
But a spokesman for the centre defended the policy, saying: ‘The safety of all visitors to our health centres is paramount.
‘Due to water spillages arising from inappropriate use of the water coolers, we have had to undertake a review and upon the recommendation of the water safety group that concluded drinking water would be best supplied from an area managed by health centre staff where there can be better supervision of the facility.
‘Drinking water will always be available and visitors can request this from reception.’