A major incident has been declared in London and Leicestershire amid a surge of fires caused by a record breaking heatwave.
The temperature on Tuesday exceeded 40C in the UK for the first time on record, with 40.2C reported at Heathrow at 12.50pm.
It was then surpassed by a record 40.3C recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire a few hours later.
Mayor Sadiq Khan the incident had been declared with London Fire Brigade under “immense pressure” including multiple houses under threat in Wennington.
“I’m in touch with the Commissioner and will share updates when I have them.”
It comes as the UK recorded its warmest night on record from Monday into Tuesday, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
Temperatures did not fall below 25C in places, including 25.8C in Kenley in Croydon, exceeding the previous highest daily minimum record of 23.9C, recorded in Brighton on August 3, 1990.
