MELTDOWN Troops pass out on parade as temperatures soar on hottest day of year
DRIVING licences may be delayed as DVLA workers start two weeks of strikes today, their union warns.
Print staff at the civil service department in Swansea, who walked out in February, have had an improved offer including a £1,500 payment.
But Public and Commercial Services union chief Mark Serwotka said action will continue “until every employer has agreed to pay as quickly as possible, without any conditions”.
NICOLA SMALL
Trombone trooper hits the ground yesterday
A TROMBONE-PLAYING trooper tried to soldier on after fainting amid sweltering temperatures during rehearsals for the King’s birthday Trooping the Colour yesterday.
The member of the Massed Bands of the Household Division was one of several to collapse in the parade – on the hottest day of the year so far, as temperatures topped 32C.
After coming round, he got to his feet and tried to keep playing before being led away.
Dressed in woollen tunics and bearskin hats, more than 1,400 soldiers were inspected by Prince William at Horse Guards Parade in London.
Known as the Colonel’s Review, it was a final rehearsal ahead of next Saturday’s Trooping the Colour to mark King Charles III’S official birthday.
William, 40, told them: “Difficult conditions but you did a really good job.”
The soldiers were not the only ones struggling as temperatures soared – with a high of 32.2C at Chertsey Abbey in Surrey. Motorists sweltered for hours in Essex after a three-car crash near Junction 27 of the M25 shut the road.
But others managed to keep their cool – including 15-month-old Darcy Cottam, who wore a sunhat and enjoyed an ice cream at St Annes on Sea, Lancs.
Forecasters said yesterday’s highs were 12 degrees above typical June temperatures. They sparked the first heat-health alerts of 2023 – amber for the Midlands, East of England, South East and South West, yellow for London and the North – remaining until 9am on Tuesday.
Warnings for thunderstorms will also be in place for the rest of today.
But Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud warned many places will “meet heatwave criteria for much of next week”, with temperatures in the high-20s or low-30s.
And bedtimes will be sticky, too, as the mercury stays above 20C.
Dan added: “Be prepared for hot and sweaty nights – or tropical nights, as they are technically called.”