Warnings amid warmest start to May on record

PRESS ASSOCIATION REPORTERS

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THE UK has seen the warmest start to May on record as temperatures continue to soar, prompting warnings of wildfires and the "hidden dangers" of open water swimming.

Kew Gardens, in London, registered 28C yesterday, the Met Office said, taking it past the previous May 1 record high temperature of 27.4C at Lossiemouth, Scotland, in 1990.

Temperatures are "still climbing", the agency added, with yesterday also the warmest day of the year, beating the previous high of 26.7C reached in Wisley, Surrey, on Wednesday.

The recovery of a 16-year-old boy's body from a lake prompted emergency services to warn about swimming in lakes and rivers. The boy got into difficulty while swimming at Colwick Country Park, in Nottingham, on Wednesday and his body was found a few hours later, police said.