Phew! It’s a scorcher on Furnace Friday - PICTURES
Scorching temperatures attracted families to some of the West Midlands’ most scenic spots – as the rising mercury caused havoc for travel and the emergency services.
Around 20 firefighters battled to contain a blaze in Little Wyrley on the Staffordshire/Walsall border.
Flames ripped through ripe corn, spreading rapidly across the sun-baked ground that included an area the size of almost 30 football pitches.
Smoke from the fire in Fishley Lane on Thursday could be seen from miles around.
The searing heat was welcomed by others, however, as families and sun-lovers from across the region flocked to their local parks, swimming pools and valleys to soak up the sun, with forecasts predicting that the hot spell could challenge the sweltering all-time UK record of 38.5C.
With the added threat of potential thunderstorms, however, locals have been out in force to enjoy the dry weather while it lasts.
Walsall Arboretum was teaming with people with children cooling off in the play area sprinklers and long queues of people at an ice-cream van.
Tettenhall Pool in Wolverhampton was another hotbed for locals looking to cool off.
PICTURES from across the Midlands
In the green space off Danescourt Road, a number of people took advantage of the free to use pool.
Elsewhere, locals to Sandwell Valley took advantage of the green space on their doorstep.
And in Staffordshire, young and old took to Hednesford Park in the sun.
The rising temperatures have been bad news for travellers.
The plans of many passengers travelling to France on Cross-Channel rail operator Eurotunnel, were left in limbo amid delays caused by air conditioning units failing.
Thousands of tickets were cancelled after temperatures affected their service, with some facing delays of more than six hours, in what is one of the busiest weeks of the year for cross-channel travel after the end of the school term.
A Eurostar manager tweeted that a train to the Belgian capital was delayed because of ‘congestion at border control’ at London St Pancras International.
The RAC experienced an increase in breakdowns of around 15 to 20 per cent on Thursday compared with a typical day in late-July.
A West Midlands vet has also been calling for people to keep an eye on their pets.
Bonnie Leibowitch, from White Cross Vets, which has practices in Bloxwich, Tividale, Kings Heath and Wolverhampton, said: “Lots of pets find very hot weather difficult to deal with and this is particularly true for dogs.
“We’ve seen several heatstroke cases in recent weeks, which can be dangerous and even deadly if not treated properly.”
