Heatwave warning level reduced

The Met Office has reduced its heatwave warning level for the North West. A level three alert had been issued - when health services should take action to protect elderly, ill and very young people.

But these have been changed to level two - "alert and readiness".

Temperatures are expected to rise again next week and people are being urged to avoid sunburn and prevent fires.

The UK is currently in its first prolonged heatwave since 2006, with temperatures above 30C recorded somewhere in the country on each of the last six days.

This is still some way short of the heatwave of 1976, when temperatures above 32C were recorded on 15 days in a row.

Met Office heatwave alerts are triggered when threshold temperatures - which vary by English region - have been reached for one day and the following night, and the level depends on the likelihood of those temperatures being reached again the next day.