Ten deaths linked to scorching weather

HEAVY thunderstorms triggered by the continuing heatwave could bring almost a month’s rain in just a few hours south of the Border, forecasters warn.

Thunderstorms broke out in Southern and Eastern England yesterday and further, isolated, heavy showers are expected through today and tomorrow.

The possibility of heavy rain came as the tragic toll of deaths linked to the heatwave in England reached ten.

Rescuers found a body believed to be a 16-year-old boy in the River Weaver near Frodsham, Cheshire, yesterday morning.

The teenager was feared to have fallen into the water on Monday afternoon.

It came after the bodies of two men were pulled from lakes in Derbyshire and West Sussex. Another search for a man missing since Friday at Crummock Water in the Lake District entered its fifth day yesterday.

Yesterday’s storms were accompanied by a weather warning, with up to 60mm (2.4ins) of

‘We could see very large hail’

rain possible. The normal average UK rainfall for the whole of August is 69mm (2.8ins).

An amber extreme heat warning continues to apply in parts of Wales, all of South-west England and parts of Southern and Central England. Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge warned: ‘We could see very large hail which could easily cause impact.

‘The thunderstorms we’ve got developing are purely because of the heat so they’re not likely to affect the heat.’

In one of the latest tragedies, a man’s body was recovered from Ardingly Reservoir, West Sussex, on Monday afternoon.

Police were called on Sunday evening when a swimmer aged 49 disappeared.

Separately, a man’s body was recovered from a flooded quarry in Derbyshire late on Sunday night.

There were seven other deaths around the country in reservoirs, lakes, watercourses and coastal areas over the weekend, including a 16-year-old girl in Witney, Oxfordshire.