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Crowds flock to the beach as heatwave hits Wales

BBC People laying on the sand at the beachBBC
Beaches across Wales like this one in Porthcawl have seen people flock to them to soak up the sun

Beachgoers headed to the Welsh coast to soak up the sunshine and cool off in the sea as parts of the country experienced a heatwave.

Wales saw its warmest day of the year so far, with 29C recorded in Usk, in Monmouthshire.

Temperatures are expected to remain high, with more good weather to come on Wednesday.

But the heat is not expected to last, as the Met Office has also issued a yellow thunderstorm warning that covers most of the east of Wales from midnight on Thursday.

Woman and two children sat on the sand
Danielle Beard from Worcester has come to Porthcawl with her family to enjoy Tuesday's fine weather

Beachgoers were taking advantage of the sun in Porthcawl, where temperatures reached up to 25C (77F).

Danielle Beard, 30, from Worcester but in Wales to visit Cardiff with her family, said: "I’m off work for a week and I’ve certainly picked the right week.

"My grandparents used to have a caravan in Trecco Bay so I wanted to come back and see it again. We’re off to Barry tomorrow to make the most of it.

"I much prefer the dry weather, it makes you feel happier."

Watch: Ice cream, sun and fun as heatwave hits

Stephen Gibbens, 73, from Newton, said Porthcawl's beaches had seen crowds gather to make the most of the sun over the past few days.

"You have the harbour, all the ice cream shops, surf shops, the youngsters love it," he said.

man in tee shirt on a park table
Steve Gibbens says Porthcawl's busy beaches are getting "a lot busier"

"It was packed yesterday and a lot busier, the whole beach was full," he added.

"But it’s still early, I can expect it will get a lot busier."

Scoops ice cream shop worker, Ffion Harmen, 18, is working her third summer by the fairground.

She said they do not see much sunshine, especially this year, so it is “absolutely lovely” to see people enjoying the sunshine, with, of course, an ice cream.

Ffion was not letting Thursday’s forecast dampen the mood either.

“A thunderstorm isn’t good, but what can you do?” she said.

“Fingers crossed for a change in weather, people tend to want to get out even in a thunderstorm, especially in the summer holidays.”

Ffion Harmen
Scoops ice cream shop worker Ffion Harmen is delighted that people are flocking to the beach to enjoy the beautiful, yet fleeting, weather

The Met Office defines a heatwave in the UK as "when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold."

Temperatures on Tuesday surpassed the threshold of 25C in Wales, with the mini-heatwave expected to continue into Wednesday.

But it may be short-lived as Thursday is expected to come with multiple spells of heavy rain showers, thunderstorms and hail according to the Met Office.

The yellow alert is in place from 00:00 BST to 23:59 BST, brought forward 12 hours from its initial start time.

There could be disruption across large parts of Wales. As well as potential flash floods with up to 50mm (2in) of rain.

The warning covers the majority of east Wales, from Wrexham to Swansea.

"Flooding of homes and businesses could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds" the Met Office said.