Sun-worshippers flocked to the beaches yesterday as England basked in its hottest October day EVER.
The mercury hit 29.9C in the South East – making it hotter in England than in Mexico, Antigua and the Sahara Desert.
But Northern Ireland and Scotland – where torrential rain fell yesterday – are missing out.
The 29.9 figure – recorded in Gravesend, Kent – beat the previous October record of 29.4C set in 1985 at March, Cambs. And red-hot October is likely to last until at least Tuesday.
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.
Mirror
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