At least three people have drowned over the bank holiday weekend as the UK experienced the hottest day of the year so far on Sunday.
Two men in their 20s died after being pulled from the sea off the coast of Torbay, Devon and Cornwall police said. Officers were called to assist the coastguard at about 9am on Saturday after reports of concern for two people off Oddicombe beach.
After an emergency rescue operation, the two men were pulled from the water and one was declared dead at the scene. The second man died after being taken to Torbay district hospital.
Also on Saturday, the body of a teenage boy was found in the River Eden in Carlisle after a 15-year-old went missing on Friday, Cumbria constabulary said. He was later named as Lewis Michael Kirkpatrick.
The discovery followed an extensive search operation when police were contacted on Friday evening after a report that four teenage boys had got into difficulty in a section of the river near the city’s Rosehill area.
A 14-year-old who was airlifted to hospital on Friday remains in a critical condition, while one of the group managed to swim to safety and another was rescued by a member of the public, Cumbria police said.
The deaths come as the Met Office said temperatures climbed to 24.3C at Bramham, West Yorkshire, on Saturday afternoon leading to crowded beaches over the weekend.
Temperatures were marginally even higher on Sunday, reaching 24.4C in Plymouth.
The RAC told motorists to prepare for busy roads in the warm weather, with a predicted 19.2m separate leisure trips by car planned. The motoring organisation said it was expected to be the busiest late May bank holiday since 2019 and that the M25 would be the hotspot for traffic jams.
On Sunday, the hours between 2pm and 7pm were expected to be the busiest on the roads, particularly on the M25 north of London and heading towards the Dartford Crossing, while 3pm to 7pm was expected to be the peak on Monday.
RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “With the travel restrictions imposed during Covid now thankfully a distant memory, it’s clear drivers’ desire to get away has been reignited.
“The Met Office predicts largely settled weather with above average temperatures, so we’re expecting this to be a hectic period on major roads as people aim to make the most of the last long weekend before August.”
He added that financial pressures were expected to mean motorists were unable to keep up with essential car maintenance, leading to more breakdowns than usual.
There was travel chaos at airports during the start of the bank holiday weekend after problems with electronic passport gates led to queues of several hours, with reports of some people overheating and fainting in the hot weather.
The Home Office confirmed the problem was a technical glitch that began on Friday and was resolved on Saturday.
British Airways also faced an IT problem that led to more than 175 flights being cancelled on Friday.
There were also reports of queues up to three hours long at the Port of Dover due to a border control IT issue, but by Sunday morning wait times were down to an average of one hour.
The Met Office expects the warm and dry weather will last well into next week. The deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates said: “Next week is half-term for much of the country and there is a strong signal the high pressure will continue to dominate our weather.
“It’s exact position over the UK will dictate the temperature, wind direction and weather patterns. However, indications are that the dry, bright weather is likely to continue for most with little in the way of rain throughout next week.”
