RED HOT NATIONAL

23C Britain beats Greece on big race day

SIZZLING sunshine will make it a red-hot Grand National as Britain basks in temperatures even hotter than Greece.

Much of Britain, including crowds of racegoers at Aintree, will bask in a surprise 23C heatwave.

POLICE threw a ring of steel around Aintree yesterday for the start of the festival.

Officers toting rapid-firing automatic rifles patrolled the racecourse for the first time in the event’s 170-year history following last month’s terror attack on Westminster.

Bags were searched outside the course, police used extendable mirrors to check for bombs under vehicles and spotters studied the crowds from strategic rooftops.

Though there was no intelligence of any specific threat, Merseyside Police adopted a high-profile presence to protect 150,000 race-goers.

The move follows a high-level review of security after the events outside Parliament on March 22 when Khalid Masood killed four people, including unarmed Pc Keith Palmer, before being shot dead by armed police.

Merseyside Police’s Chief Supt Claire Richards said: “What the public will see this year, which is different, is the presence of armed officers.

“You would expect us to have reviewed plans in the light of Westminster, and we have.”