Phew, what a scorcher: Heatwave sears Britain as it happened

As the working day winds down to a clammy close, what better way to end the day than with a refreshing cocktail.

We asked Sacha Bell of The London Cocktail Club to recommend her top five tipples to cool down with after a balmy day at the office.

Bramley Apple Smash:

50ml Bombay Sapphire
10ml Elderflower Cordial
15ml Lemon
6 Mint Leaves
50ml Apple Sauce

"This floral smash will transport you to one of London's beautiful gardens in one sip, with gin, citrus, elderflower and fresh mint it encapsulates classic Britishness and with the Custard Cream garnish, you may as well be having a picnic."

Mojito:

50ml Bacardi Superior
6 lime wedges
12 Mint leaves
25ml Sugar syrup

"This drink needs no introduction, a true Cocktail Club crowd-puller and classic simple pleasure - rum, lime, fresh mint, soda and a touch of sugar - you can't get more thirst-quenching than that!"

Confessions of a Cucumber Salesman

35ml Finlandia Grapefruit
15ml Merlet Poire
25ml Lemon Juice
20ml Cucumber Syrup

If you're looking for true refreshment, look no further. The unusual combination of cooling cucumber paired perfectly with grapefruit and pear may just make this your new summer staple!

Rumbongo

150ml Bacardi Superior
150ml Passion Fruit Puree
150ml Apple Juice
150ml Pineapple Juice
50ml Vanilla Syrup

"Rumbongo Rumbongo, they drink it in the Congo! Designed to share, the Rumbongo is a punchy number! A rich and satisfying blend of tropical juices, this one's a summer party must - it's even served in your very own Monkey Cooler!"

Fortune Cookie

30ml Bombay Sapphire Gin
20ml St Germain Elderflower
20ml Lime Juice
20ml Passionfruit Puree
10ml Sugar Syrup

"With a clever fusion of oriental flavours, together with this scorching eastern heat, The Fortune Cookie will take you on a fragrant trip through Asia with a classic British twist... served with your very own chopstick straws and a Fortune Cookie!"

The London Cocktail Club is at: Goodge Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Oxford Circus, Covent Garden, Islington and Shoreditch.

A soldier guarding Prince Charles has fainted at a Second World War monument in Hayling Island, Hampshire.

The man, who is in the Royal Artillery, was in full uniform as the Prince of Wales visited but fainted face-first to the ground. He was revived by volunteers from St John's Ambulance.

Forget thermometers, sweat patches and wilting ice creams - everyone knows the best way of telling if it is really hot is if you can fry on egg using nothing but the raw power of UV rays.

Watch IBTimes UK science reporter Hannah Osborne attempt to crack it.

It's officially the hottest July day since records began - in celebration here is a hot dog in central London.

IBTimes UK's top ten tunes to accompany the heat wave – in no particular order:

1. Light My Fire – The Doors
2. We Didn't Start The Fire – Billy Joel
3. Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
4. Summertime – The Zombies
5. Sunny Afternoon – The Kinks
6. Walking on Sunshine – Katrina And The Waves
7. Sun is Shining – Bob Marley
8. Disco inferno – The Tramps
9. Hot in Herre – Nelly
10. Fire Starter –The Prodigy

Why are rail services suspended or closed in high temperatures?

Network Rail offers this explanation:

"On warm days, rails in direct sunshine can be as much as 20 degrees centigrade above air temperature. As rails are made out of steel, they expand as they heat up and are subject to strong compression. This expansion has to be managed to reduce the risk of track buckling.

If the track does buckle, the line must be closed and the track repaired before services can resume, causing considerable disruption. Usually, these repairs can't be done until the temperature of the rails has dropped.

If a section of track is judged to be at risk, we introduce local speed restrictions - slower trains exert lower forces on the track and reduce the chance of buckling."

Delays and partial closures are being reported on nine railway lines in the UK.

Find out how your commute will be affected here:

Extremely high temperatures are forecast for today and because of this Network Rail will be introducing speed restrictions on various parts of the network, throughout the day.

The following train operating companies are currently expected to be affected by these speed restrictions:

• Abellio Greater Anglia
• Chiltern Railways
• First Great Western
• Great Northern
• London Midland
• Northern Rail
• Southeastern
• Thameslink
• Virgin Trains East Coast

Wimbledon has seen the effects of the heatwave after a ball boy collapse on Court 17.

Paramedics rushed to assist the boy who was conscious when he was taken away on a stretcher.

Not to be outdone, Heathrow just hit a mind boggling 35.7°C! Reports London Mayor Boris Johnson contributed to the searing conditions by petrol bombing the airport in the wake of today's Airports Commission decision are wide of the mark.

How will Wittering respond? What a showdown we have on our SPF 15-slathered hands. Could Heathrow vs Wittering be the UK's very own 'hot-war' social-commentary, like Rocky IV was the Cold War?

It's official, today is the hottest day since 2006! Go UK! Go sun!

And which Peterborough village has been bestowed the title being of said uninhabitable sweltering place?

Why, that would be Wittering, which has just seen the mercury in thermometers there (yes, residents there still use thermometers) rise all the way to...35.3°C.

As you guzzle back litres of hydrating water, spare a thought for Muslims marking the month of Ramadan by observing a fast.

As part of the commemoration, many Muslims will abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours, which today means going without water for approximately 147 hours.

Here is how some of those observing the 30-day period have reacted on Twitter to today's conditions:

Heathrow Airport has reached a whopping 34°C and that, according to my 'C' in GCSE maths tells me, is just one degree Celsius away from forecasters' prediction of 35°C.

Come on, sun, you can do it!

With some impressive back-sweat on display across London, here are ten locations the capital is hotter than and their pathetic temperatures:

Amsterdam, the Netherlands - 31°C
Athens, Greece - 26°C
Beirut, Lebanon - 27°C
Cairo, Egypt - 30°C
Dubai - 34°C
Lisbon, Portugal - 22°C
Lagos, Nigeria - 30°C
Madrid, Spain - 34°C
Moscow, Russia - 24°C
Zagreb, Croatia - 29°C

As Wimbledon is set to be the hottest on record today, Judy Murray, called for the men to be allowed to implement the "heat rule" - where play is stopped in very high temperatures to give the players a 10 minute break – which in line with the woman's tour.

The Mother of British number one Andy Murray said: "I think the men should adopt it as well, especially because they have to play best of five sets and a slam is such a tough thing to play.

"I know you get a day between the matches but if you're going to win a slam you need to win seven matches in 13 days."

Temperatures on courtside at the All England's Club hit 40C yesterday and could be even hotter today.

And the excitement is rising just as fast as the heat is

Met Office confirmed at 11am today is already the hottest day of the year as temperatures hit 33.5°C in Heathrow

Kent County Council has handed out around 7,000 bottles of water and 750 snacks to lorry drivers caught up in the disruption caused by striking ferry workers in Calais.

The Red Cross, the Maritime Coastguard Agency, Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Service has also been brought in to assist those caught in the grid lock along the M20.

KCC Senior Resilience Officer Steve Scully said: "These arrangements are part of the ongoing responsibilities of KCC during an emergency. We'd like to thank our partners for helping us to deliver the items and to Tesco for providing thousands of bottles of water."

If you are still unsure how to stay cool during the heat, IB Times UK has compiled its own handy guide as well as important information regarding heatstroke and dehydration.

UK heatwave: Five easy ways to stay cool and healthy during the hottest day of year

It's getting hotter

BREAKING: People like cold stuff when its warm.

Some hard hitting truths being expelled by the good folk over at Blue Yonder, who have revealed that during a heat wave, people are more likely to buy ice cream, cold drinks and suncream.

According to the survey of 2000 people, more than 80% of 'Millennials' (basically a hideous buzz marketing word for people born somewhere between 1983 and 1994 and no longer pay for music) are happy to spend more for ice cream and cold drinks during a heatwave, compared to just 40% for ages 55 plus.

So there we have it, kids of today love ice cream when it's hot more than their unhip, embarrassing parents.

The Met Office issued this handy graphic to illustrate the end of the word as we know it.

As of 9am, the current hottest place in the UK is Northolt in northwest London, which reached 28C.

Figured I'd type 'sunburn' into our Getty archive and found this pic of Theo Walcott leading by example on how to protect yourself from the rays.

The heatwave could mean today could be the warmest Wimbledon on record, beating the previous high of 34.6C set on 26 June 1976.

On centre court, world number one Novak Djokovic will start his campaign at 1pm, meaning unless he completely blitzes his opponent (Finish outsider Jarkko Neiminen) the Serb will be forced to play during the hottest part of the day.

Dr Paul Cosford, Director for Health Protection at Public Health England (PHE), has got some more advice on how to survive the heat.

We want everyone to be able to enjoy the good weather safely. Older people and those with long-term illnesses are particularly vulnerable to the effects of very hot weather, so it's important to look out for them, help them stay hydrated with plenty of cool drinks, and keep indoor areas as cool as possible.

Try to keep bedroom and living spaces cool, by closing the curtains on windows that receive the sun and opening your windows at cooler times of the day and overnight when you can. Turn off non-essential lights and electrical items as these generate heat. A trip to a park where there's lots of shade or a public building that is air conditioned, may help offer some relief from the heat for vulnerable people.

National Rail have also warned about possible delays to their services due to the heat. A statement on the website reads:

"Extremely high temperatures are forecast for today and because of this Network Rail will be introducing speed restrictions on various parts of the network, throughout the day.

"The following train operating companies are currently expected to be affected by these speed restrictions:

If you're just about the brave the sweaty, red faced crowds as you make your way into work, take a look at IB Times UK's special which looks at what the maximum working temperature should before you're allowed to take the day off.

It's not just us humans who will struggle in the heat, with Greater Manchester Police offering this reminder heart clenching reminder regarding leaving dogs in hot cars.

The government has also given a warning to those susceptible to the heart such as the elderly. The Muslim Council of Britain have also issued joint guidelines with the NHS on how to deal with the heat while they are fasting during Ramadan.

As the heat rises, we will be keeping an eye out for how Britain's entire infrastructure struggles to cope with temperatures regularly experienced by our European neighbours, including if our trains struggle to operate.

Network rail had to cancel several journeys yesterday when temperatures hit a barmy 29C as the track "buckle" as they expand in the heat.

A Network Rail spokesperson said:

"Warm weather causes the steel rails to expand as they heat up, which is why we closely monitor track temperatures and take action, if it's needed, to keep trains running safely and reliably.

"Track temperatures this week are predicted to exceed 50 degrees Celsius in many places, meaning we will need to impose speed restrictions at some locations. This is because slower trains exert lower forces on the track, reducing the risk of buckling and keeping passengers moving."

Britain is bracing itself for the hottest day for nearly a decade, with temperatures in the south east expected to reach highs of 35.C (98F).

Temperatures have already been hitting 23C and are 7am as the warm air drifts over from central Europe where the mercury has been topping 40C for the past few days.

However, despite the sunny spells, the Met Office has warned there could be heavy and "possible severe" thunderstorms expecting to develop buy the afternoon across northern England and southern Scotland, leading to the possibility of flooding and frequent lightning.