A group of lads were spoken to by police for tombstoning at a reservoir in Greater Manchester where they tried to cool off from the sweltering UK heatwave – just hours after a 37-year-old man died from ‘coming into difficulty’ in a Gloucestershire lake

A group of lads were spoken to by police for tombstoning at a reservoir in Greater Manchester where they tried to cool off from the sweltering UK heatwave – just hours after a 37-year-old man died from ‘coming into difficulty’ in a Gloucestershire lake.

The teenagers were jumping off the rocks at Dove Stone Reservoir in Saddleworth, Oldham, on Friday afternoon, which reached 28C (82.4F) by midday.

Officers spoke to the group, likely urging them to exercise caution when jumping into the body of water from the rocky edges.

This comes after a 37-year-old man sadly died after ‘getting into difficulty’ in a lake in Gloucestershire, in what is thought to be the first death of the UK’s heatwave this week.

Emergency services were called to Pittville Park in Cheltenham at 5.47pm on Thursday evening. Despite crews’ best efforts to save the man, he was pronounced dead at the scene.His death is not currently being treated as suspicious. 

His next of kin have been informed, and Gloucestershire Constabulary said the death is not being treated as suspicious. The lake and areas of the park were cordoned off on Thursday night and police remained at the scene on Friday morning. 

His death comes as experts today warned of the dangers of wild swimming as temperatures soared into the low 30s across the UK on Friday afternoon.

Britons basked in the hottest day of the year for the third day in a row on Friday with the mercury hitting 32C (90F) as sunseekers packed beaches and parks ahead of Atlantic storm warnings over the weekend.

Up to 50,000 beachgoers hit the seafront at Bournemouth which turned into a sea of umbrellas and deckchairs after people had battled through nine-mile queues to get into the resort, with car parks already full by 11am. 

There were 20-minute queues for ice creams, while 3,000 deckchairs and 1,200 sunloungers were rented out and the council issued an ‘amber’ warning for the beach, saying it was ‘congested’ and sunbathers should ‘stay alert’.

The mercury got to 32.4C (90.3F) at Heathrow Airport at 2pm, two hours after a reading of 30.3C (86.5F) at the same location gave Britain its hottest day of the year so far.The top temperature increased steadily throughout the morning with London seeing 23C (73F) at 7am, 26C (79F) at 9am, 27C (81F) at 10am then 29C (84F) at 11am.

It is the third consecutive day that the UK has enjoyed its warmest day of 2022 so far, with 29.5C (85F) at Northolt in the capital yesterday, which itself beat the previous high of 28.2C (82.7F) set at Kew Gardens on Wednesday.  Today is also the hottest day since 2020, with the highest maximum reached in all of 2021 being 32.2C (90F).

Meanwhile, rain and cloudy weather are expected to hit Manchester and parts of the north west of England later on Friday, Freelance Web Designer Malaysia while parts Hull and the surrounding areas in the north east could also experience some showers.

People in the capital were pictured eating ice creams as early as 10am; police patrolled beaches in South Wales in plain clothes in a bid to spot ‘concerning or predatory behaviour’; racegoers drank water as they waited to enter Royal Ascot; and a although the cause is not yet known.

Parts of the UK will be hotter than Jamaica and the Maldives today – but people in , North West England and Scotland were warned to brace for cooler weather and rain. In fact, heavy rain and strong winds were so fierce north of the border that  imposed a speed restriction on the West Highland Line today.

Network Rail also warned train services in other parts of Britain could experience delays and disruption today because of the heat, which can cause overhead wires to sag and the steel rails to buckle, and advised customers to check before they travel.A spokesman said: ‘We can’t change the weather, but it can change your plans.’

In the South there is an outside chance today could be the UK’s hottest June day on record, with the current all-time high for the month at 35.6C (96.1F) – set in London on June 29, 1957, and Southampton on June 28, 1976.

There are also hopes of a glorious Saturday for many parts of the UK – with temperatures set to hit 26C (79F) in the South East tomorrow, before dropping significantly to a much cooler high of 21C (70F) by Sunday.

The Met Office said the UK is ‘still on course to see a 34C somewhere this afternoon’ – and a Level Three heat-health alert has been issued by forecasters and the UK Health Security Agency for most of the South East. 

But some Twitter users were unimpressed by the alert, saying they ‘do not need the Government to tell me to drink water and put on suntan lotion’; ‘we don’t need nannying’; and ‘get away with you – it’s summer for goodness sake’.

The mercury will climb further this afternoon as a heatwave coming up from  and Portugal has the biggest impact in the South East, while the rest of England and Wales can expect between 27C (81F) and 30C (86F).

Chiltern Railways said a speed restriction was enforced because of ‘high track temperatures’ between Haddenham & Thame Parkway and Bicester North, meaning trains had to run at a reduced speed on the Leamington Spa line.

Lidos across London were packed early this morning as swimmers enjoyed a pre-work dip in the hot weather, while large groups of sunbathers were seen sitting on Bournemouth beach as early as 8.30am. The council in the Dorset town said that by 11.15am, all of its seafront car parks were full and the ‘surrounding roads are very busy’.

It comes as Royal Ascot relaxed its dress code for the hot weather, allowing men to remove their ties and all spectators to bring in water and soft drinks – with both moves happening for the first time in the event’s history. 

The dress code was relaxed for the first time in 2017 when men were allowed to take off their jackets, while on another occasion racegoers were advised to wear boots on waterlogged ground, reported the .

Britons have already been enjoying the warmth this week as plenty spent time outdoors yesterday, although those intending to bask in the balmy temperatures again today have been warned about the ‘serious’ health risks.

Dr Vikki Thompson, climate scientist at the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute for the Environment, said: ‘Heatwaves are one of the most deadly natural hazards. In the UK, 3,000 deaths were linked to heatwaves in 2021.

‘The health issues related to heat include direct effects, such as heat stroke and cardiovascular failure, and indirect effects including poorer mental health and an increase in accidents such as car crashes and drownings.’

Healthcare staff have been told to plan for how the hot weather will affect patients, after a Level Three heat-health alert was issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for most of South East.

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-9b647e80-ee33-11ec-911e-59bf23e66e4b" website set to bathe in 27C today before temperatures drop tomorrow