South East to exceed 30C in latest heatwave

Temperatures in south-east England are set to hit 30 degrees on Wednesday as the region prepares for another spell of hot weather.

An amber heat health alert has been issued for the whole of England, with a warning in place until Friday evening to cover temperatures up to a possible 37C (98.6F) on Thursday.

On Monday the whole of the South East was included in the area now officially in drought.

Hastings Borough Council said the Breeds Place and Millstone fountains had been switched off temporarily because of the amount of water used by fountains in periods of extreme heat.

Tanya Flasck, Southern Water's director of water operations, has told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme: "We do have quite a challenge at the moment.

"Demand has gone up significantly but we are hanging in here and making sure customer taps don't run dry for the most part."

When asked about accusations of leakages in Southern Water's network, she said: "I can absolutely understand people's concern.

"In the last few years we have made a step change in leakage and we are continuing to invest so that we can try and detect those leaks."

She said "We have reduced leaks since about 2023 by well over 20%.

"We have to make sure we are doing a lot of detection activities and we have hundreds of people out all the time to do that."

Meanwhile, South East Water apologised to 39 properties in the village of Ulcombe in Kent as their supplies remain disrupted.

A red fire alert has also been issued for areas in East and West Sussex and Surrey.

Firefighters have responded to 966 wildfires across England and Wales this year, including 185 in the first 10 days of August alone, while July was the busiest month on record for wildfires with 458 incidents, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said.

Crews from Surrey and West Sussex have been assisting Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service with a fire in the New Forest, which started after a van caught fire on the A31 near Ringwood on Sunday.

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