Will it be Britain's hottest week ever?

If you thought the weekend was hot, wait until later this week.

Forecasters expect temperatures to rise steadily as the week goes on, possibly even topping Britain's all-time recorded high of 37.1c (98.8f).

Parts of the country touched 30c (86f) yesterday, making it warmer than Barbados, where Tony Blair and his family are on holiday, and much of Europe.

The hottest spots were in London and the South-East. It was cooler in the North with Cumbria only reaching 21c (70f) but the Midlands was considerably warmer as Birmingham got to 28c (82f).

A Met Office spokesman said Britain had already seen the third warmest June and July of the past 100 years.

This week's temperatures would be the hottest of the year, topping the 33.6c (91f) achieved at Wisley, Surrey, on July 15. 'We've already had some very hot weather this summer but this week could be hotter still,' he added. 'It could break the records for the hottest day ever and make it into the record books.'

The 37.1c record was set in Cheltenham on August 3, 1990.

While the heatwave could last until next weekend, the Met Office man said, there could also be some thundery outbreaks.

Last month's hot temperatures prompted what bookmakers called the biggest-ever gamble on the weather.

With more than £100,000 staked on temperatures topping 37.7c (100f), William Hill cut its odds from 14/1 to 12/1.

More than 100,000 visitors descended on Bournemouth beach yesterday and the resort's 3,500 deckchairs were all taken by 10am.

Sunseeker Paul Bergin, 26, from Haverhill, Suffolk, said: 'I'm here for a long weekend and I'm so glad I came because the weather is superb.

'I was thinking of going to the Med but I'm glad I chose Bournemouth instead.'

Daytrippers flocking to the coast, theme parks and other tourist havens brought traffic jams to most major routes, with the M23, M4 and M3 particularly busy.

The AA recorded 1,200 call-outs to stranded motorists yesterday.

Coastguards also reported a hectic day with rescue teams on the South Coast logging 30 calls from stricken boats.

Experts put the baking weather down to a combination of factors.

The heat of June and July dried out the ground and pushed sea temperature levels up. This means warm air blowing in from France - itself in the middle of a heatwave - is not cooled by the sea and the heat is maintained.

As we are also experiencing strong sunshine and few clouds, the air heats up to far higher temperatures than normal.