Britain bakes on third hottest day on record
The UK had its third hottest day on record on Friday, as the Met Office recorded temperatures of 37.8C at Heathrow Airport.
Police and local councils scrambled to avoid overcrowding and breaches of social distancing at beaches along the southern coast as people made the most of the weather.
A temperature of 37.3C was also recorded at Kew Gardens in west London as the one-day heatwave brought a relatively gloomy July to an end.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: "This not only makes it the warmest day of the year, it also makes it the third hottest UK day on record."
The current hottest temperature on record was hit on July 25 last year, when 38.7C was reached in Cambridge. The second hottest day was 38.5C reached on August 10 2003 in Faversham, Kent.
Friday’s sweltering heat came as the Met Office released its annual State of the Climate report, in which it said climate change was exerting an increasing influence in the UK.
After a dull July, which had only two-thirds of average sunshine for the month, more than 100,000 people descended on Bournemouth beach, keen to make the most of the heat.
Dorset police said the area was “rammed” by 1pm and threatened to block off roads and put on extra patrols, in an attempt to avoid the crowds seen in the area last month.
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council encouraged beachgoers to use a new smartphone app that alerts visitors when sections of the beach are overcrowded, making social distancing impossible.
Yvonne Jones, 66, a beach hut holder in Poole told the BBC that Boris Johnson "should have made sure people stayed in their own counties.”
She said: "The traffic is horrendous - I live locally and it was a nightmare to get here. It's the locals who end up suffering."
Motorists were being turned away from an overflowing car park in the luxury peninsula of Sandbanks in Dorset by 11am.
Southeastern Railway put on extra trains to Ramsgate and Margate, but urged travellers to reconsider their journey because of the difficulty of social distancing.
Thanet Council also asked beachgoers to stay away from its most popular spots, including Joss Bay, Botany Bay and Viking Bay.
Brighton and Hove City Council issued a statement at 2pm telling people to stay away from the city because it could no longer enforce distancing.
In a message on Twitter, the council said: "We're concerned about the number of people in the city. If you're not already here, please don't travel to the city today. There is limited capacity on public transport. Large numbers make it impossible to maintain physical distancing."
Although cooler temperatures are expected on Saturday, it is still likely to be in the mid- to late-20Cs across the weekend, with the southeast particularly warm.
Mr Partridge said: "Both days are going to be mostly dry across the UK with sunny spells and some showers at times that may be out to the north and the west of the country."
