BASINGSTOKE bathed in scorching temperatures on Friday as a heatwave swept across the south of the UK.

According to records, Friday August 7 was the hottest day in August since 2003, where temperatures reached 38.5C in Faversham, Kent.

This heatwave comes after Friday was recorded as the UK’s third hottest day on record where it reached 37.8C at Heathrow Airport.

Residents were spotted paddling down Odiham Canal.

And some were seen plastering on the suncream lotion, with their shades on as they sunbathed in Eastrop and War Memorial Park.

Families were out and about enjoying the play park, with children on the swings at Old Basingstoke Recreation Ground and dog walkers meandering around Crabtree Plantation.

Others cooled down with a pint at The Angel and other pubs across the town.

Temperatures were soaring on Friday, with highs of 33C, with the town on course to be hotter than Ibiza this weekend.

The party isle - which is currently subjected to a travel ban as mainland Spain will reach 30C.

On Sunday the temperature is expected to drop slightly and sit in the high 20s.

The Met office has said that heatwave conditions are ‘likely to be met’ in Hampshire as temperatures are predicted to be above 27C for three days in a row from Thursday and expected to last until at least Sunday.

In other, parts of the country the temperature is predicted to be even hotter with highs of between 34C and 37C in the south-east of England on Friday.

The Met Office warned last week that the global climate crisis was having an “increasing impact” on the UK, with data showing an “undeniable warming trend”.

It also said ‘southerly winds arriving across the UK from continental Europe in combination with high pressure’ are the reasons behind the sunny spell.