Roads melting in the heat but rain is coming

GRITTERS have been deployed to shore up roads as they melted in surface temperatures of 104F (40C).

Cambridgeshire County Council acted after motorists complained that their tyres had started “ripping the tarmac off the roads”.

Drivers were warned by police to take care on the B1165 near Newton in Cambridgeshire, where the tarmac has melted, and Agnes Owen, who works nearby, said that it “sounded like cars were driving on water”.

Evan Laughlin, from the council, said gritters had been used to distribute granite dust to stabilise the road surface and stop bitumen becoming stuck on wheels.

“Normally the roads stand the summer temperatures we get, but just this week it’s very hot,” he said.

Motorists in Tarleton, Lancs, also discovered tar on their wheels as roads melted, while some commuters in Croydon refused to use trams after noticing the track appeared to be disintegrating. Transport for London said they had thrown sand down to help protect the rails.

Rory O’neill, Tfl’s director for London trams, said: “The flexible sealant near the track has been softened by the current hot weather and although it is having no impact on the safe running of the tram network, we appreciate may look concerning to customers.”

Elsewhere, pupils were sent home from a school in East Yorkshire after refusing to wear blazers as temperatures soared past 86F (30C).

Kingswood Academy in Hull said the children were defiant over their uniforms, but parents complained that teachers had put their health at risk.

Allergy charities also warned that the hot weather could trigger fatal attacks it and said sufferers should stay away from rural areas and avoid leaving windows open at night and early in the morning when pollen counts were at their highest.

However, the five day heat wave will come to an end with thunder and hailstorms with 1.6in of rain expected to fall in an hour this evening, sending temperatures plummeting.

Laura Paterson, Met Office chief forecaster, said: “Temperatures will peak on Wednesday. There will be torrential downpours and hail and this will see temperatures begin to come down.”

The storm will move in from the west to affect parts of southern Scotland and northern England from the early hours today.

More extensive thunderstorms may break out over a larger part of England and Wales from late this afternoon, leading to torrential downpours, frequent lightning and a chance of hail.