Britain basks in its hottest October day ever

SUNSEEKERS flocked to the beach yesterday as the region basked in the hottest start to October in a century.
Much of the North was covered in cloud at the start of the day, but they soon parted allowing Britain’s unseasonal heatwave to continue as streams of hot air pumped up from Europe and Africa.
Gravesend in Kent recorded a reading of 29.5C (85.1F) at 2pm yesterday, narrowly beating the previous October record of 29.4C (85F) that was set in Cambridge in 1985.
However, we should enjoy the weather while it lasts, as experts are predicting that today and much of next week will be cooler and wetter.
Rachel Vince, senior meteorologist at the MeteoGroup, said the fine weather was expected to last until the middle of next week in the South East corner of the UK, then drop to a fresher 18C to 20C.
Other parts of the UK could expect more rain in coming days but “nothing particularly stormy or horrendous”.
It’s not only the region’s beach-goers who have been surprised by the warm weather.
Supermarkets around the region have unexpectedly sold five times the amount of burgers and disposable barbecues than last weekend.
Even plants are confused as flowers are beginning to bloom again across the region thanks to the sweltering heat.
The Royal Horticultural Society said the warm weather was causing a lot of late flowering.
The heatwave has been caused by a massive block of high pressure which is wallowing over Europe, blocking the usual wet and windy autumn weather.
But it is a different story in Scotland and Northern Ireland where rain fell and temperatures struggled to get into the mid-teens.


Temperatures today are expected to be close to 30C – extra­ordinary given that it’s less than a month ­until the clocks go back for winter.


A Met Office spokesman said: “All parts of England will have fine weather until Tuesday at the very least when westerly winds will bring cooler temperatures and a chance of showers. The South East and the Midlands are expected to see the best of the fine weather.”


The warm front, triggered by high pressure to the east, has led to thousands of ­people booking last-minute seaside getaways. More than 300,000 people will flock to Brighton beach over the weekend. By last night the city’s 16,000 hotel rooms were full.


In Bournemouth the beach was so busy the council had to take its deckchairs and sun-loungers out of storage. In Cornwall, lifeguards were called back from their breaks.


Meanwhile ice cream makers are struggling to cope with ­massive demand. Luigi Coronato, who runs eight ice cream vans in Nottingham, has increased production by 75 per cent. He said: “After the ­recession, everyone is feeling the pinch, but this makes a big ­difference.”


The warm weather has also tricked plants into blooming for a second time this year – thinking it’s spring already. And at ­Flamingo Land in Scarborough two Caribbean birds started to lay eggs and start nesting four months early.


And the London Ambulance Service said there was a 20 per cent rise in calls for people with breathing difficulties. Several accidents yesterday were blamed on the weather. Police found a body while ­searching for a ­teenager who went missing in a pond in Nuneaton, Warks.


And in Puddletown, Dorset, a woman suffered serious spinal injuries when her horse was frightened by bright sunlight.