Everyone screams for ice cream as the West Midlands sweats in heatwave weather

With temperatures rising into the mid-30s and staying constant over a few days, more cafes, shops and other venues have seen a significant increase in sales of ice cream and ice lollies over the last week.

With the Met Office issuing an extreme weather warning for Thursday onwards with highs of around the mid-30s, ice cream makers have seen their sales double.

Red Lion Farm in Haughton in Staffordshire produces a range of ice cream flavours for retailers across the region and co-owner Alison Hollinshead said the farm has had to kick up a gear to meet demand.

She said: "I couldn't begin to tell you how much more we've been selling as we've been that busy and we've had to concentrate on making.

"We have a delivery day on a Friday and our customers are coming to me on a Monday and telling me that they've run out and we've had to kick up a gear to meet wholesale supply.

"We're coping well though as our staff have been doing extra hours and we've been doing extra hours and we just keep going on, with honeycomb among the favourites."

For places selling ice cream, the hotter weather has seen more people buying ice cream as a way of cooling down from the heat.

Canalside Farm in Great Haywood is one of many places to see an increase in demand, with co-owner Anna Barton saying the cafe had seen more demand, particularly from children visiting the farm.

She said: "We are a destination for families and a lot of kids on their school holidays start to nag their parents for a treat and want to get an ice cream at the end of their visit.

"I think it's because people fancy something sweet and the whole family want to get an ice cream as part of their trip and I'm finding that honeycomb, strawberry and lavender and honey are the most popular ones."

The Met Office has issued an amber heat warning running between Thursday and Sunday, which could see temperatures peak at 36C across southern England and eastern Wales.