5pm update

Britain swelters in hottest day of the year

Rising temperatures in the UK easily made today the hottest day of the year, but forecasters said that nowhere in the mainland was likely to break the all-time heat record of 37.1C (98.8F).

By 4pm, Gravesend in Kent topped the temperature chart at 35.9C (96.6F), with Central London close behind at 35.7C (96.2F). The year's previous high - set in Wisely, Surrey, on July 15 - was 33.5C (92.3F). The Met Office predicted a high for the day of about 36C (96.8F) somewhere in the south-east of England.

The day started hot; by 11am, the capital was three degrees hotter than at the same time yesterday. Overnight, the air became muggier, meaning that temperatures did not drop as much last night as they had done the night before, a Met Office spokesman explained.

Sweltering Brits could expect some relief over the weekend, but temperatures are still expected to hover around 30C, the spokesman said.

Two die in swimming accidents

Two 17-year-old boys died yesterday in separate swimming accidents as they attempted to cool off.

One of the teenagers was with friends when he decided to go for a dip in a lake at Hurstbourne Priors, near Whitchurch, Hampshire, following a day of intense heat in the area.

Friends saw the boy go under the water late in the afternoon, but fail to reappear. His body was recovered around two hours later.

The other death happened at a south Yorkshire canal lock after a group of eight boys went for a swim on what was described as a "treacherous stretch of water" by south Yorkshire police.

Rail cancellations continue

Train travellers faced a third successive day of delays and cancellations today as the heat brought more speed restrictions on the rail network.

The worst-hit area was again the Midlands, while restrictions also affected East Coast and west of England services.

The 60mph limits have been imposed by Network Rail amid fears that tracks will buckle in the extreme heat. The company today pointed out that, in the heatwave of 1976, there were 132 cases of buckled tracks, more than twice the annual average for the 70s.

Today's speed restrictions today forced Virgin Trains to cancel 20 of its West Coast main line services, including 16 trains between London and Birmingham.

Other west coast services started or terminated early, with some making additional stops. GNER, which runs East Coast main line services, cancelled four services on its London-Leeds route, while Central Trains also scrapped services between Birmingham Snow Hill and Dorridge, in the west Midlands.

In the west of England, the First Great Western train company cancelled 17 services, mainly on its routes between Cardiff, Bristol and London.

On the roads, drivers were warned to watch out for the danger caused by melting carriageways.

Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy at the AA Motoring Trust, said: "Very hot weather can cause the stones on the surface of the roads to sink, which means that roads lose their skid resistance.

"Another problem is that overheated roads become soft and rutted, making them uneven and difficult to drive on."

The AA Trust added that motorways and trunk roads were usually very resilient to these problems, with the risk in hot weather mainly occurring on local roads, where "surface dressing" is commonly used to seal the road and improve skid resistance.

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