GIMME SHELTER!
Glasto fans struggle in sweltering heat
BRITONS sweltered in the hottest June day since 1976 yesterday – as temperatures hit 34.5C (94F).
Roads melted and some schools sent children home for the day as heat-related casualties caused a drain on emergency crews.
At Glastonbury, dozens of revellers had to be treated for problems caused by the hot weather within hours of the site opening at 7am.
The 41-year peak was recorded at Heathrow at 4pm and comes as parts of the country have had five consecutive days of temperatures above 30C (86F).
It is the highest for the month since the 35.6C (96F) recorded in Southampton on June 28, 1976.
And it’s the hottest prolonged spell since that drought summer.
But thunderstorms and downpours brought a soggy end to the heatwave in the North of England – and the South can expect a similar drenching today.
Steve Willington, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ‘The high pressure that has dominated our weather of late is starting to move away, allowing fresher air in from the west.
‘A cold front that will pass through the UK will mark an end to the hot spell of weather in the south and bring cloudier skies and lower temperatures.’
The sweltering heat resulted in ‘unprecedented demand’ for ambulances in London, with some patients enduring four-hour waits.
For the first time, Royal Ascot let racegoers remove their jackets due to ‘very hot’ conditions.
Donkey rides were suspended for the first time at Porthcawl, South Wales.
At Glastonbury, the usual dress code of wellies and waterproofs was replaced by bikinis and flip flops as the festival recorded its hottest day when the mercury hit 31C (88F).
Many arrived at first light, only to be met with long queues and heightened security. Thousands of revellers were forced to stand for up to four hours in open fields as they waited to enter the 900acre site in Somerset.