Motorists are being warned of melting roads and dangerous tyre blowouts as Britain’s heatwave continues.
The alert comes from AA president Edmund King, following Tuesday’s peak temperature of 35.1C in Kew Gardens, west London.
Roads in East Anglia have already begun to melt, including the A143 in Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds.
Mr King explained: “Some roads may begin to soften at temperatures above 50C, which could occur when air temperatures reach 30C. Other impacts that can show on heat-stressed roads include rutting and wheel paths from the weight of vehicles on busy roads where the road surface has softened.”
He added that high temperatures “stress the rubber” on older or damaged tyres, potentially causing “punctures, wall failures and, most dangerous, blowouts.”
Mr King advised drivers to get damaged tyres replaced to avoid an incident on the road which is a “threat to you, people in your vehicle and other road users”.
The AA said the number of breakdowns it attended over the bank holiday weekend was up 15 per cent on the same period last year, as “heatwave conditions put extra strain on vehicles”.
The company received 34,124 callouts between Friday and Monday, compared with 29,602 a year ago.
Sunday and Monday had the biggest year-on-year increases, with callouts up 21 per cent on both days, while on Saturday and Friday there were rises of 17 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
Another breakdown rescue company, the RAC, said it was 29 per cent busier than usual on Tuesday compared with a normal Tuesday in late May, with more than 9,500 requests for assistance.
Britain is currently experiencing their fifth consecutive day of soaring temperatures, with 35C recorded at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday breaking the May temperature record for the second time in two days.
Locations ranging from Suffolk to Berkshire and Warwickshire have all broken temperature records, according to the Met Office, with the 34.8C recorded in Kew Gardens in London on Monday smashing the former May record of 32.8C – set in 1922 – by a massive two degrees. That record was then increased on Tuesday.
Blistering UK temperatures also meant that London was set to be warmer than temperatures set in Lagos, Cairo or Ho Chi Minh City, according to early forecasts.
