Soaring summer temperatures and a scorching end to the month have given Britain its hottest June for three years, according to new figures.
With temperatures climbing to a sweltering 30C (86F) and above, the last month was the hottest, driest and sunniest since July 2006.
Sunbathers were not the only ones taking advantage of the heatwave, which sent sales of electrical fans soaring with sales at Tesco up twenty-fold compared to last week.
The average monthly maximum temperature was 1 to 2 degrees Centigrade above the average for the period 1971-2000 in all regions, while mean minimum temperature was 0.5 to 1.5 degrees Centigrade above.
Measured against the average over the period of 1971 - 2000, sunshine hours in England and Wales, was 222 hours, which is 117% of the 1971-2000 average, according to figures from climatologist Philip Eden.
The equivalent figures for Scotland were 227 hours, 129%, and for Northern Ireland 261 hours, 142%.
The average maximum temperature ranged from 22.3C (72.14F) at Heathrow airport to 12.9C (55.2F) at Fair Isle, between Orkney and Shetland, while average minimum temperature varied between 12.7C (54.8F) at St James's Park in London to 6C at Altnaharra in Sutherland.
The highest single temperature was recorded at Wisley in Surrey yesterday, at 31.3C (88.3F), while Kinbrace in Sutherland shivered at minus 2.7C (36.8F) overnight on the sixth and seventh.
Rainfall averaged over England and Wales was 80% of the average for the period 1971-2000, 84% of the normal amount in Scotland and 95% in Northern Ireland.
Summer storms though did mean some areas suffered downpours, with 90mm of rain falling in the Exeter area on the sixth.
