Beauty spot residents are bracing for a fresh stampede of revellers as a major ‘African heat flare’ is set to roast Britain in a ten-day heatwave.
Tourists are expected to flock back to beaches across the country as temperatures up to 91F (33C) sweep in from central Europe by the end of the week – following 71F (22C) today.
But the warm weather will come as a blow to locals in areas such as Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Sussex who can expect another huge influx of holidaymakers.
Beleaguers Cornish residents reported over the weekend how the popular county had turned into ‘Benidorm on steroids’ as floods of visitors left them too scared to leave their homes.
Meanwhile Thanet District Council in Kent begged people to avoid four of the area’s beaches – including the popular Margate’s Main Sands – due to the number of visitors.
And a drunken fight broke out on the seafront in Brighton on Saturday night as two women went toe-to-toe and others cheered and ignored social distancing.
It comes as Britain’s coronavirus infection rate continues to soar, with 744 people diagnosed with the virus yesterday – up from 771 yesterday and 880 on Friday.
Tourists are expected to flock back to beaches (pictured, Brighton on Friday) across the country as temperatures up to 91F (33C) sweep in from central Europe by the end of the week – following 71F (22C) today
A major ‘African heat flare’ is set to roast Britain in a ten-day heatwave sweeping across the country from the Continent over this week
Street marshals were deployed in Cornwall as tourists poured down narrow streets and flouted social-distancing rules – despite clear warning signs in place.
Cornwall Council slammed the ‘ignorant’ visitors who descended on beauty spots without their face masks, as Britons elsewhere appeared to ignore social distancing rules while gathering at bars.
Deputy leader Adam Paynter yesterday admitted there is fear in the coastal county for a rise in coronavirus cases as people travel to the region for their holidays.
Speaking out about holidaymakers flocking to the country, where yesterday a man in his 40s died after being pulled from the sea, he told LBC: ‘It is feeling quite busy, it’s difficult to know exactly where it is numbers-wise.
‘Many hotels and certainly bed-and-breakfasts either haven’t opened or are seeing less visitors but then our campsites and caravans are seeing a lot more people using those sites so it is feeling busy when you’re out in some of our towns.’
Councillor Paynter also criticised ‘ignorant’ tourists who refuse to wear face masks during their visit to the south-west.
He said: ‘Clearly we’ve still got a very low number of cases of coronavirus but obviously residents want to keep it that way.
‘I’ve heard two different incidents where people have been overheard saying: ‘Well, I’m not going to wear a mask. I came down here to get away from all of that.
‘I think that’s pretty ignorant thinking that coronavirus doesn’t exist down here. We did have 20 positive cases this week which was up 14 from the previous week.’
He added: ‘So it’s something that local residents are concerned about because they’ve been sensible, they’ve behaved.’
But locals in the county are among those preparing for another weekend of misery as the mercury looks set to rocket back up to at least 91F (33C).
The Met Office told of an ‘African heat flare’ coming in from Thursday until mid-August, bringing ‘drier, brighter and very warm’ weather towards the end of the week and ‘very hot conditions’ in the South East.
Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze, said: ‘August could rescue summer. He added: ‘Computer models suggest a very warm or hot period from Thursday, lasting for as long as mid-month. 35C is possible again.’
Two women pose as they are photographed at Southend Beach in Essex on Friday as the heat rocketed to the third highest ever temperature
Senior forecaster at the Met Office Marco Petagna said: ‘On Monday we are looking at a mixture of sun and showers with most of them looking like they will be in central and eastern parts of England.
Pictured: Hero father who died after saving three of his children when they got caught in rip tide off Welsh beach as his ‘devastated’ partner pays tribute to him for ‘bringing our babies back’
A father-of-seven who died while rescuing three of his children when they got caught in a rip tide during a family trip to the seaside has been pictured.
Jonathan ‘Joff’ Stevens, 36, was with the youngsters aged ten to 12 at Barmouth in North Wales when they began to struggle in the water yesterday lunchtime.
The plasterer tried to pull the children to safety, and a major rescue operation was launched involving a lifeboat and Coastguard search and rescue helicopter.
Jonathan Stevens is pictured with his partner Laura Burford and four of their children – including Lacey (bottom right) and Jack (bottom centre), whom he rescued yesterday
Mr Stevens, from Telford, Shropshire, was then pulled from the water and flown to Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor in an air ambulance but died.
Today, his heartbroken partner Laura Burford, who was back home 80 miles away when the tragedy happened, said he had died a hero while ‘saving their babies’.
She said: ‘I am absolutely devastated to say that I have lost the complete love of my life. All seven of his beautiful kids have lost their dad.
‘He died saving his kids’ lives in the sea. There are no words to describe the pain. I will always be grateful to (him) for bringing our babies back. I love him, always have, and always will.’
‘Any showers across Wales will dry away during the afternoon and we are looking at temperatures between 19 and 23C generally… the North of England should be slightly cooler.’
He said there would be outbreaks of rain across the North West on Tuesday – but that the South East should expect dry, sunny weather. Mr Petagna said the outlook for Wednesday would be similar, albeit a little breezier.
He said: ‘In the second half of the week the heat should build, especially on Friday and Saturday, and that we could see two, possibly three, days of hot weather.
Ex-BBC and Met Office forecaster John Hammond of weathertrending added: ‘The great news for millions on staycation is August looks kinder than summer so far.
‘Plenty of fine weather is further ahead, with more potential for heat than for much of summer so far.’
The Met Office’s long range forecast read: ‘For the following week, a fair amount of dry, bright warm weather looks likely for much of the UK with the possibility of some further very warm weather, especially in the South East.’
Friday was the third hottest day since records began in 1910 reaching temperatures of 37.8C (100F). Forecasters have warned of outbreaks of rain from today, particularly in the North West, until Wednesday.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes slashed odds on August being the hottest ever to 4-7 on. Spokesman Alex Apati said: ‘We’re going to melt this month.’
A drunken fight broke out in Brighton, with one ‘full scale’ brawl spilling out of the packed Music Hall bar on the seafront on Saturday night.
Security staff and passers-by jumped in to help break-up the women, who appeared to pull at each other’s hair as they tumbled to the ground near the seafront.
A witness said: ‘It was very warm and large numbers of people had been drinking all afternoon, totally ignoring social distancing measures.
‘Suddenly a minor disagreement erupted into a full-scale fight with the women trading blows. The fight then spilled over to another area with both women grappling and punching each other on the floor.’
The witness added: ‘Eventually the single security worker, who was not wearing a mask, managed to separate the pair.’
Sussex Police did not intervene to enforce the social distancing measures pubs and bars have been ordered to abide by.
The witness added: ‘I think the hot weather and drink is a recipe for disaster when it comes to the Government’s anti-Covid-19 policies.’
Although scenes were much more peaceful on the streets of Soho, London, photographs yesterday showed large groups gathering to drink outside pubs and bars.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth beach was typically busy as sunseekers flocked to top up their tans in the warm summer heat, as was Southend beach in Essex.
Thanet District Council in Kent begged people to avoid four of the area’s beaches, including Margate’s Main Sands, due to the number of visitors.
Leader of the council Rick Everitt said: ‘Early on, it became clear that they were going to reach levels of which we were concerned about.’
As temperatures hit 72F in Brighton this weekend, tempers boiled over when an argument between two women erupted into violence with bystanders cheering them on
Authorities expressed concern about keeping tourists safe in the water, as well as the potential spread of Covid-19 and maintaining social distancing. Mr Everitt said: ‘The RNLI only have a certain capacity.
‘They’re on seven Thanet beaches this summer, which is slightly fewer than usual, and they’re doing a great job where they are but they don’t have unlimited resources to deal with people in the water.’
The councillor added: ‘If you have too many people on the beach, it just becomes unmanageable from that point of view.’
A further eight people who tested positive for Covid-19 died in Britain yesterday while 744 people were diagnosed with the bug.
The total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals, care homes and the wider community during the pandemic hit 46,201 following the rise.
Figures released on Sunday are usually lower due to a delay in processing over the weekend.
The cases recorded yesterday – as well as a further 771 yesterday and 880 on Friday – took the country’s total to 304,695.
Five people who tested positive for coronavirus died in England, with patients aged between 52 and 86 and with known underlying health conditions.
Two of the patients died in the Midlands, one in the north east and Yorkshire, one in the North West and one in the south west. Wales reported a further three coronavirus deaths in care homes and hospitals and 37 more cases.
Scotland reported no new deaths – although it points out that register offices are now generally closed at weekends. A total of 31 people tested positive for the bug.
Northern Ireland stopped reporting its data on the virus at weekends so the daily figures for positive cases are for Britain only.
It comes as an exclusive poll for MailOnline revealed yesterday a quarter of Britons are planning to alter their holiday plans in the wake of the decision to re-impose quarantine restrictions on Spain.
Some 25 per cent said they were considering changes and more than a third said they were now less likely to book a foreign holiday at all amid fears other popular destinations could follow in having restrictions put in place.
But the poll, conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, also found more than two in five people backed how the Government handled last Saturday’s announcement which came with just five hours’ notice.
The worries come as the government discusses whether lockdown restrictions were eased too early. One of the government’s top scientific advisers warned ‘further interventions’ could be needed to get pupils back in classes next month – suggesting ministers decide between pubs or schools.
