Brits swelter on the hottest day of the year with temperatures reaching 35C

17 June 2022, 08:03 | Updated: 18 June 2022, 00:14

Thousands of sun-seekers packed beaches across Britain today as the mercury soared to 34C on the hottest day of the year so far.

Temperatures reached 34C in the south east with people flocking to beaches as early as 6am.

Lidos across London were packed with early-morning swimmers and beach-goers were seen on Bournemouth beach from as early as 8.30am.

The local council said all of its car parks were full by 11.15am- as parts of the UK sweltered in temperatures hotter than Jamaica and the Maldives.

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A double decker bus burst into flames in dramatic scenes this morning, sending a plume of smoke billowing over parts of London as sweltering temperatures hit.

The 333 bus caught alight after pulling into a bus stop in Brixton.

One onlooker posted online: “Bus in Brixton pulled into the stop and promptly caught on fire. Huge flames & crashing as bits of it were burned off. Stay safe in the heat!”

Another witness posted a clip of the rear of the bus completely engulfed in flames.

The driver and passengers all managed to escape the bus safely before the London Fire Brigade arrived and extinguished the flames. There are no reports of any injuries.

The London Fire Brigade said in a statement: “Firefighters were called to a bus alight on Christchurch Road in Streatham Hill.

“Part of a double decker bus was damaged by fire. The driver and passengers left the bus before the Brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.

“The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers took 19 calls to the blaze.

“The Brigade was called at 9.50am and the fire was under control by 10.22am. One fire engine from Brixton Fire Station attended the scene.”

The incident happened an hour after the London Fire Brigade issued a warning over the hot weather, warning people not to discard cigarettes and matches as they could ignite rubbish and spark fires in the heat.

Away from the capital and the South East, 27-30C is expected across most of England and Wales.

Brixton: Bus catches fire on the hottest day of the year

Meanwhile, locals in Suffolk and Norfolk said on Friday afternoon that they had seen melting roads due to the heat.

One person tweeted: "Just drove over approximately 100yards of tarmac (felt like treacle, tarmac melting) in Mundesley just before coming alongside the beach (Mundesley Road)!!"

Another Twitter user said: "A road near me in Suffolk is literally melting in the heat."

A third person tweeted: "It's so hot today that the road outside work started melting."

It comes after both Doncaster Council and Lincolnshire County Council put gritters on standby earlier in the day, the grit intended to stabilise the tarmac before it was damaged by heavier vehicles.

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The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office previously issued a Level 3 Heat-Health alert for London, the East of England and the South East, meaning temperatures could affect the public's health.

This alert follows the Level 2 alert issued on Tuesday and confirms that the Met Office's threshold temperatures for an alert will be reached in three regions from Friday.

A Level 2 alert remains in place for the East Midlands and South West.

In a change designed to tackle the soaring heat, men will be allowed to take their jackets and ties off at Royal Ascot today because of the hot weather.

Organisers have also said visitors will be able to bring in water and soft drinks for the first time.

Carrie Johnson, wife of PM Boris Johnson, was seen arriving for the fourth day of the racing meet today wearing a rented Emilia Wickstead dress and an Anne Gretton jockey hat.

A high of 29.5C (85.1F) was recorded at Northolt in west London on Thursday, surpassing the 2022 high of 28.2C (82.76F) recorded at Kew Gardens on Wednesday.

Highs of 26.1C (78.98F) were recorded in Cardiff, 21.4C (70.52F) was recorded in Edinburgh and 20.6C (69.08F) was recorded in Derrylin in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

While England and Wales will bask in the heat on Friday, it will be cooler in Northern Ireland and Scotland which will both be affected by rain.

Meanwhile, firefighters are warning that there is an increased risk of fires due to the heatwave.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it has already attended more than 1,430 grass and open land fires across the city this year.

This includes grassland, canal and riverbank vegetation, scrubland, parks, playgrounds, crops and woodland.

Around 350 of these were in domestic gardens and LFB said that with prolonged periods of hot weather, there is a concern these numbers will rise.

In the last five years, London's firefighters have attended almost 600 fires involving barbecues, 45 of which were on private balconies.

The Brigade's assistant commissioner for fire safety, Charlie Pugsley, said: "We want people to enjoy the glorious weather and do so safely.

"Barbecuing on dry grass is reckless and can easily cause a really serious fire - damaging the immediate area and risking nearby properties.

"We're also urging people to think twice about having barbecues on balconies.

"It's easier than you might think for a balcony fire to spread to others, which could not only leave you homeless but displace hundreds of your neighbours too.

"We're not trying to take the fun out of the heatwave, but for the sake of our city - and of our firefighters who have to work in sweltering temperatures to tackle these blazes - we'd really like people to take our advice on board.

"We're asking the public to remain vigilant and call 999 as soon as they see any signs of smouldering grass."

Firefighters are also warning residents not to risk their safety for a cooling swim.

In the last five years, crews have attended almost 300 reports of a person in water or at immediate risk of entering water.

The LFB said there were nine accidental drownings in London last year, making it the joint third highest in the UK.

The Met Office warned that there may be difficult sleeping conditions on Thursday night, with temperatures expected to stay between mid and high teens.

Forecasters said that it would be termed a tropical night if nowhere drops below 20C (68F).

Britain's highest recorded June UK temperature was 35.6C at Southampton Mayflower Park in June 1976 - and forecasters do not expect that high to be surpassed this week.