Heatwave peaks in South East

Trains are being forced to go slow because of the hot weather

A Kent town has recorded the highest temperature in the UK on the hottest day of the year so far.

But sweltering temperatures in the South East have brought disruption to rail services as well as good news for holidaymakers.

Gravesend in Kent became the UK's official hotspot on Wednesday when the thermometer hit 35.9C (97F).

Wisley in Surrey was not far behind with 35.5C - though still some way off the UK's hottest day on record when the temperature reached 37.1C, almost 99F, in 1990.

A train driver was forced to make an emergency stop on Tuesday near Gatwick after spotting a rail line which had been buckled by the high temperatures.

SOUTH EAST HOTSPOTS (WEDNESDAY) Gravesend, Kent - 35.9C Wisley, Surrey - 35.5C Herne Bay, Kent - 35C Tandridge, Surrey - 35C Ticehurst, East Sussex - 35C

The airport recorded the highest temperature on the UK mainland on Tuesday at 33C (91F).

The driver spotted the buckled rail at 1530 BST as he approached platform two at Gatwick Airport station at slow speed.

In south-east England, all rail services on Connex, South Central and Gatwick Express face speed restrictions between 1300 and 1900 BST on Wednesday, with delays and cancellations expected.

Network Rail said the Gatwick incident was a good example of why thousands of passengers are facing delays due to speed restrictions imposed during the heatwave.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: "This clearly demonstrates the problems the heatwave can cause us, and why the current speed restrictions are required.

Days of rail delays

"On this occasion, an alternative track was used and there was no delay to passengers and we would like to stress that there was no danger to the train."

The buckled line at Gatwick, which reopened on Wednesday, was one of two discovered on Tuesday, with the other in north east England.

So far this year there have been 91 buckled rails, compared with an average number of 49 over the past decade.

The maximum high rail temperature this year was 52C, recorded near Guildford in July.

The region's commuters could face many more days of rail delays if the hot weather continues after the weekend as forecast.

Mediterranean crop

Network Rail will impose speed restrictions at noon each day until temperatures drop below 30C.

On Wednesday, temperatures peaked at 35C at Tandridge in Surrey, Ticehurst in East Sussex and Herne Bay in Kent.

But on the south coast, the sea breezes brought cooler temperatures - in Broadstairs it was 27C and Brighton reached just 22C.

The hot weather has been welcomed by England's winemakers, who are looking forward to a good crop of grapes.

Will Davenport, owner of the Davenport Vineyards in Kent and East Sussex, said: "They are a Mediterranean crop and we have been enjoying Mediterranean weather so we couldn't ask for any more."