UK heatwave: Yorkshire and Lincolnshire set record temperatures

Record-breaking temperatures have been recorded across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Leconfield in East Yorkshire reached 36C (96.8F) on Monday. Its previous highest temperature was 34C (93.2F).

The 36.8C (98F) recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire beat the county's previous record of 36.3C (97.3F) at Cranwell in 2019.

It came as a number of rail operators cancelled services, with the extreme heat set to continue on Tuesday.

BBC weather forecaster Paul Hudson said Yorkshire's highest ever recorded temperature was 36C (96.8F) which was in Wakefield on 25 July 2019, matched by Leconfield on Monday.

Meanwhile, Sheffield recorded a temperature of 35.9C (96.6F) on Monday, beating its previous high of 35.6C (96F) set in 2019, while Bramham Park in West Yorkshire reached 35.1C (95.1F). Its previous high was 33.5C (92.3F)

Hull also beat its previous record with a temperature of 35C (95F).

The Met Office has issued a "red" extreme heat warning on Monday and Tuesday with temperatures forecast to hit up to 41C (106F).

The impact on travel will continue on Tuesday, with the East Coast Main Line closing in the afternoon for all locations between York, Leeds and London.

Operator Northern has also issued a "Do Not Travel" warning to passengers for Tuesday.

Tony Baxter, from Northern, said the advice to avoid travel was "not issued lightly", but the high temperatures were likely to cause disruption across the network.

"There will be blanket speed reductions in place and a limited timetable in operation throughout the region," Mr Baxter said.

East Midlands Railway warned of cancellations or reductions to its services from Sheffield and Lincoln.

TransPennine said services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield were suspended "until further notice".

The operator's Hull to Manchester Piccadilly route and Huddersfield to Leeds stopping service would also not run on Monday and Tuesday, it said.

Train operator LNER said as well as the cancellation of services to Kings Cross there would be limited trains to other destinations and it was highly likely that those would be subject to "significant delays because speed restrictions will be in place".

It urged passengers to check before they set off.

Hull Trains said it would be only running a single service early in the morning in each direction between the city and London on Tuesday.

Jake Kelly, spokesman for Network Rail, warned of travel disruption across the country due to the heatwave, and cautioned that services returning to normal on Wednesday "will depend on the damage that the weather does to the infrastructure".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Mr Kelly said: "Our advice very strongly to customers in England and Wales today and tomorrow is to only travel if absolutely essential, and to expect a very reduced train service and delays.

He added that closing the East Coast Main Line between 12:00 and 20:00 on Tuesday was not taken lightly "but we've not been faced with these exceptional temperatures before".

"We're spending hundreds of millions of pounds a year on making the railway more resilient but ultimately faced with weather like we've never faced before, the infrastructure will suffer so we've had to put in place arrangements," said Mr Kelly.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Mr Kelly said: "We hope and expect to run a full service on Wednesday and beyond, but that will depend on the damage that the weather does to the infrastructure over the next couple of days. We have lots of plans in place to make sure that we can run."

Lincolnshire County Council said at 13:00 BST on Monday a road surface temperature of 54.3C (130F) was recorded in Martin, Timberland.

The authority said its gritter, named Spreaddie Mercury, was on standby to deliver a "dusting of sand" should roads become "tacky".

Meanwhile, several schools across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have closed or are shutting early and many are relaxing their uniform policy to help pupils in the heatwave.

In West Yorkshire, a primary school has moved classes to a nearby church in a bid to beat the heat, while a Lancashire school party visiting North Yorkshire enjoyed a cooling trip to Ingleborough Cave, where the temperature is 9C (48F) all year round.

In Leeds, waste and recycling centres closed early on Monday, with the same on Tuesday, with the exception of the Kirkstall site which will open as normal. The council said it was to reduce risk to staff and to "mitigate risks from potentially combustible materials".

Also in Leeds, Tropical World, closed on Monday, will also remain shut on Tuesday, to ensure focus is "on the welfare of the animals". The café and shop will remain open, it said.

Similarly, the Victorian conservatory in Hull's Pearson Park will also not reopen until Wednesday due to soaring temperatures.

Dry conditions have also resulted in several fires, with blazes reported in Uffington in Lincolnshire and Hellaby and Skellow in South Yorkshire.

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