Woman is killed in jet ski crash and boy is found 300m off shore in dinghy as eager sun seekers cause two-mile traffic jams in dash for the coast on last day of heatwave - with temperatures set to hit 97F before thunderstorms sweep in (28 Pics)
A woman has died in a jet ski crash in North Wales, while a young child had to be rescued after drifting 300 metres away from shore in Southend, as coastguard rescue call-outs surged to record levels during the heatwave.
The youngster was rescued in Southend from a dinghy was then taken off by air ambulance suffering from hypothermia. Overall, coastguard rescue reported more than 340 incidents on Saturday - the highest amount of callouts received in four years.
It comes as huge two-mile traffic jams have caused travel chaos around Britain's beauty spots as eager sunseekers flock to the great outdoors on another scorching day with temperatures expected to rise to 91F (33C).
Lines of cars were seen waiting to get into Camber Sands in East Sussex as lockdown-weary tourists took a trip to the seaside.And enormous queues also formed in Bournemouth - but drivers were one step behind those who camped out along the sea front last night to secure their spot on the shore.
Others cast aside tents all together, instead opting to sleep under the stars, lying on the sand or on deck chairs after swathes of beach-goers flocked to the coast yesterday - with many ignoring social distancing rules.
Sunbathers should soak up the rays while they can as torrential rain and 'severe' thunderstorms set to batter the country from Tuesday - with floods and hailstones posing a risk to homes and businesses, the Met Office warned.
Yellow weather warnings have been issued for vast swathes of the country, warning residents to 'be alert' to the risk of flooded buildings and disruption to public transport.
Dan Harris, Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, said thunderstorms are on the way, with some places likely to be hit with up to 80mm of rain in just a few hours.
The average amount of rainfall for England in August is around 70mm - meaning the country could see a month's rainfall in just one day.
An air ambulance was forced to land metres from Southend seafront after a young child in an unmanned dinghy drifted 300m from shore
Huge traffic jams are building around Britain's beauty spots as eager sunseekers flock to the great outdoors on another scorching day with temperatures expected to rise to 91F (33C)
Huge queues also formed around Bournemouth (social media footage pictured) - but drivers were one step behind the those who camped out along the sea front this morning to secure their spot on the shore
Crowds of people walked towards Camber Sands today as the warm weather brings people out in their droves again
A sea of umbrellas can be seen in Bournemouth as lockdown-weary sunseekers flock to the seaside for another day in the sun
Holidaymakers and sunbathers flocked to the seaside reside of Lyme Regis today. Vast swathes of tourists were seen dotted along the shore
Sunseekers swam in the sea off the coast of Lyme Regis on a scorching day today. Some people took out canoes while others relaxed on the sand
Crowds of revelers relaxed on the sand in Lyme Regis as Sunday brought another day of warm weather to much of the country
The Camber Sands car park was jam-packed with vehicles as people flocked to the seaside as Britain sees another scorching day
The volume of traffic in Bournemouth is 10 per cent higher than this time last week, TomTom data revealed
It appears that today will be no different to the beach scenes yesterday. Crowds of people are already covering the sand in Bournemouth
Huge crowds of sunbathers and swimmers dotted the sand all along Bournemouth beach in Dorset. Today is set to bring hot weather to much of the country
Eager sunseekers camped out on the sand at Bournemouth beach last night as they clambered to be first in line for another scorching day
Others in Bournemouth cast aside tents all together, instead opting to sleep under the stars, lying on the sand or on deck chairs
One group were up bright and early on Sunday morning after camping out on Bournemouth beach ahead of another scorcher today
One woman was seen lying on the sand with a pair of jeans as her only blanket as she day is set to bring another wave of melting weather
Various tents were scattered along the coast. This one had a table with food and drinks on it. The tent's residents appear to have slept on mats
This man opted to sleep under the stars, lying on a mat with what appears to be a towel draped over his face to shield his eyes from the sun
'We've issued a broad thunderstorm warning for Monday and Tuesday for all parts of the UK, since although the ingredients are there, it's just too early to pinpoint the details of exactly where and when thunderstorms will occur,' he said.
'As such, we will be monitoring the developing signals closely and I urge people to keep a close eye on Met Office warnings and forecasts over the coming days.'
Saturday's top temperature was 94F (34.5C) at Frittenden in Kent, Wiggonholt in West Sussex, and Herstmonceux in East Sussex, the Met Office said.
On Saturday, HM Coastguard dealt with 340 incidents across the whole of the UK - the highest number of call-outs in a single day for well over four years.
The Coastguard co-ordinated search and rescue responses to a wide range of incidents, including people being cut off by the tide and children swept out to sea on inflatables.
In total, the service rescued 146 people and assisted a further 371.
Yesterday, a man in his 20s drowned in a quarry, a six-year-old boy almost died after his inflatable swan was swept out to sea and men were pictured jumping into the water at Durdle Door - an activity that critically injured two men in May.
In North Wales, described as being a scene of 'bedlam' on Friday, a councillor's plea for visitors to avoid towns was ignored as the local police force reported a 'considerable build up' of traffic in Abersoch while drivers made their way to the beach.
A resident in Camber put up a sign reading 'beware, tyre deflate zone'. It added: 'Parking across driveway may result in your tyres deflating'
A sign outside an entrance to Camber Sands, East Sussex read: 'Camber Sands full. Use alternative beaches'
Temperatures will remain high into the 30s across the south of England on Sunday before clouds roll in on Monday with the potential for storms later in the week
On Saturday a man in his 20s drowned in a water-filled quarry at Bawsey Pits near King's Lynn, Norfolk, after 'getting into trouble in the water'.
Emergency services were called to the scene at about 11.30am when the man was reported missing.
Elsewhere, a hero builder rushed to save the life of a six-year-old boy who was found face down and unconscious in the water after he was swept out to sea on an inflatable swan at Black Rock Sands in North Wales.
The grandfather, who was on the beach with his family when he heard the child's mother shout for help, patted the boy on the back before he threw up and started breathing again.
In Dorset, cliff divers leapt head-first into the sea from Durdle Door - where three men had to be rushed to hospital in May for jumping from a height into the water.
Some were seen carrying inflatable rings as they made their way across the dangerous rock face. Dorset police previously described the danger posed by jumping from the cliff as 'critical' and two men in their 20s were left with life-changing injuries and another broke his leg after jumping from the cliff three months ago.
Record numbers packed the seafront on Friday, despite Government warnings, and with little signs of social distancing, on what was the UK's hottest August day since 2003.
There were similar scenes again yesterday as staycationers in Bournemouth were seen emerging from tents they'd set up overnight to try and secure the best spots, while Sussex Police turned away cars from a full Camber Sands beach as early as 10am.
Similarly, drivers reported 40-minute queues for car parks in Sandbanks, which filled up throughout the day.
Thanet District Council in Kent warned that high tides at its beaches in Broadstairs and Margate make social distancing 'difficult', and asked visitors to 'consider all the places you could visit' along its 19 miles of coastline, 'or come back when it's quieter'.
Much like Friday, crowds appeared unbothered by fears of coronavirus as groups mixed without masks - despite rising cases in the UK driving fears of a second wave.
The chaos comes amid a plea for 'bold' young people to continue following social distancing rules as fears grow that they are catching the virus without knowing and passing it on to other members of their household.
Meanwhile, the Local Government Association is calling for councils to be given more powers to shut down rule-breaking pubs nationwide, with revellers expected to pack into venues up and down the country once again later today.
Dylan Bullard, a councillor from Pwllheli, North Wales, told the Telegraph the town was a scene of 'bedlam'.
He added: 'If you're thinking of coming into town, please consider leaving it to later. The car parks are full and cars are parked illegally. Social distancing is impossible at the moment, and people are queuing to get into shops.'
Saturday started with an 'impressive' 68F difference between parts of Scotland and south-east England, the Met Office pointed out.
Forecaster Marco Petagna earlier said a breeze along the North Sea coast would keep temperatures in the high teens there, while England and Wales would generally see the high 20Cs or low 30Cs - with cooler temperatures in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
London and the South East have endured sweltering heat over the past few days, with no let-up expected until the middle of next week.
The record for the hottest August day is 101.3F, set at Faversham on August 10 2003.
The current record maximum temperature for the UK is 101.6F, reached in Cambridge Botanic Garden on July 25 last year.
Yesterday saw crowds of people heading for the coast, with images of packed beaches, traffic jams and full car parks shared widely on social media.
By the afternoon, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council's beach check app showed 19 of its 24 beaches under red alert, warning people to avoid the areas because safe social distancing was not possible.
The Met Office issued a level three heat-health warning for the South and South East, meaning the public should look out for others, particularly the elderly, children and people in poor health.
Ishani Kar-Purkayastha, consultant in public health at Public Health England, said: 'This summer, many of us are spending more time at home due to Covid-19.
'A lot of homes can overheat, so it's important we continue to check on older people and those with underlying health conditions, particularly if they're living alone and may be socially isolated.'
It came after Preston's director of public health warned mixing in pubs was to blame for the area being put back into lockdown, with almost half of the area's new cases reported were among people aged 30 and younger.
The city council's chief executive Adrian Phillips pleaded with young people to continue following the guidance and not risk infecting others.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I know our director of public health has said 'don't kill granny' to young people to try and focus the message.
'Young people are inevitably among the brave and the bold, they want to be adventurous and out and about but we know that they have the virus, are more likely to at the moment, they often have less symptoms but they do take it back to their household and the community spread we are seeing we believe in many cases are young people taking it home and catching the virus.
'We're going to have to repeat it and whether Radio 4 is the correct channel for that I'm not quite sure but we're using multiple channels and we're working with community groups who are doing peer to peer comms around.
There was very little space on Margate beach on Saturday afternoon after families and sunseekers flocked to the sea
A group of girls jump into the sea as they enjoy the hot weather in Margate, Britain, on one of the hottest days of the year yesterday
Brighton beach was packed with sunseekers on Saturday as revellers once again took to the sea in their droves
Boy, six, is swept out to sea on an inflatable swan before being revived by hero builder as scorching temperatures bring hordes of British sunseekers to the coast
A hero builder rushed to save the life of a six-year-old boy yesterday after he was swept out to sea on an inflatable swan as Britons flocked to the coasts on one of the hottest days of the year.
Sam McKeeder (pictured), 57, is a builder and granddad
Sam McKeeder, from Towyn, said the boy was about 200 metres off the shore at Black Rock Sands in North Wales when he found him face-down and unconscious in the water.
The grandfather, who was on the beach with his family when he heard the child's mother shout for help, patted the boy on the back before he threw up and started breathing again.
The dramatic rescue took place on a day when Britain’s beaches were packed for the second day running, as people all-but abandoned social distancing to bask in the sunshine.
'He was totally unconscious, I turned him around and patted him on his back and then a lot of water and sick came up, and he started breathing again,' the granddad told North Wales Live.
The boy's father had been told to stay onshore by the coast guard while he called 999 and waited for his son and by the time the boy got to shore there were paramedics waiting for him.
The boy was given oxygen and airlifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd by a coastguard rescue helicopter.
Another man had tried to get to the boy too but the boy was too far away from shore the man was too exhausted.
A spokesman for Holyhead Coastguard said: 'I wish people would leave the inflatables at home as they are designed for swimming pool not for the sea.'
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