North East fire services stretched to breaking point as heatwave takes its toll across the UK

As the Met Office warns that the UK could experience its hottest day ever later, fire services in the North East say they're being pushed to breaking point by soaring temperatures.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue reported a 250% increase in the number of callouts since the heatwave begun, compared with the same period last year.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue said they'd also seen a rise, of more than 150%.

David Leach from Tyne and Wear Fire said:

"Since the dry weather has come in, we've attended over 400 incidents where we've had grassfires. In comparison with the same period last year, we only attended 100 incidents.

"Crews are very busy already and these are a lot of additional callouts we're attended."

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue's Rob Cherrie said:

"When you look at some of the national incidents, we've sent people down to Lancashire because the wildfires there were extreme.

"But on a smaller scale, we have those in our service area so it's very resource intensive and very labour intensive on our crews."

It comes as the British heatwave has brought the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures soaring to 35C.

The mercury hit the 2018 high at Heathrow on Thursday, the Met Office said - and it is set to get even hotter.

Forecasters say temperatures could soar to as high as 37C on Friday, triggering a thunderstorm warning into the afternoon.

The hot weather is taking its toll across the country:

• The heatwave is said to be causing "winter conditions" in parts of the NHS

• Passengers on Eurotunnel endured five-hour delays with no air conditioning

• The Royal College of Nursing said high temperatures were leaving nurses dizzy and exhausted

• 56 fires have raged on grass verges next to England's motorways

• A high pollution alert was issued for London

• Fire brigades are calling for a ban on BBQs in parks

The highest temperature recorded in 2017 was 34.5C at Heathrow on June 21.

The most recent heatwave prior to this was in July 2015 when temperatures peaked at 36.7C at Heathrow on July 1, a temperature that is currently the July all-time maximum record.

There is a chance the high temperatures could even beat the all-time UK record of 38.5C, with the hot weather set to continue into August.

With the potentially record-breaking high temperatures in the coming days, the Government is being warned it must do more to protect vulnerable people in extreme heat.

Deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said:

"These days there is no real let-up in the pressure on NHS services in summer in the way we used to see.

"But the heatwave has meant that in some places at least, we're back to winter conditions - in hospitals, community, mental health and ambulance services - and although fewer staff are off sick there are more away on holiday.

"Some trusts are reporting record numbers of people coming into A&E, with increased emergency admissions, often for respiratory problems and conditions made worse by dehydration.

"We have heard concerns about large numbers of people from care homes requiring treatment."

A Met Office spokesman said while it will be a bit cooler and potentially unsettled over the weekend, the hot weather will return next week.

A mix of toxic air, extreme highs, emissions from the continent and a lack of cloud cover have caused a "high" air pollution alert to be issued for London.

Children, the elderly and people with lung or heart problems have been advised to reduce strenuous exercise and physical exertion.

Advice and warnings have been issued to those on the move in the heat.

Drivers have been urged not to throw rubbish from vehicles amid a surge in grass fires near busy roads.

There were 56 fires on grass verges next to England's motorways and major A-roads in the 10 days to Wednesday, Highways England reported.

Passengers using cross-Channel Eurotunnel services face delays of up to five hours after air conditioning units failed on trains.

The English end of the Folkestone-Calais link was worst affected, with people forced to queue for up to 90 minutes just to check in and a further three-and-a-half hours for the next available slot, according to the operator.

Footage posted on social media showed long queues of cars, caravans and lorries.

Elsewhere, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been urged to set out what measures he is taking to make sure the NHS can cope with the heatwave.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said hospitals are facing year-round pressures, saying "the traditional lull in NHS activity during the quieter summer months is a thing of the past".

Blood supplies have dropped, health officials have said, saying some people have been too dehydrated to donate while others have chosen to stay in the sun.

One nurse was admitted to A&E with dehydration after working three 12-hours shifts in a row during the heatwave, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said.