Body of boy, 15, found near reservoir as police warn ‘enjoy warm weather safely’
The body of a 15-year-old boy has been recovered near a reservoir in what police called a “sad reminder of the dangers of entering open water”.
Seven people have died in water-related incidents during the recent heatwave, following on from 15 in May’s.
Greater Manchester Police were called to reports of a boy getting into difficulty in the water near Cowbury Reservoir, Stalybridge, at around 6.30pm on Saturday and a body was recovered later that evening.
Chief Inspector Helen Baxter said: “Yesterday’s events are nothing short of devastating and my thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the young boy who sadly lost his life in such awful circumstances.
“We are confident that there are no suspicious circumstances and that this is such a sad reminder of the dangers of entering open water.
“We remind the public to please avoid being tempted to cool off in reservoirs, rivers, canals or ponds.
“We all want to enjoy the warm weather; please make sure you do so in a safe way.”
Heat records were broken on three consecutive days from Wednesday, reaching a provisional peak of 37.3C in Santon Downham in Suffolk on Friday, and Saturday saw a high of 32.3C in the same location.
The last Met Office warning for extreme heat finished at 9am on Sunday as the heatwave comes to a close.
Temperatures are expected to drop by around 5C or 6C on Sunday, producing highs of 25C to 26C on the eastern coast and around the mid-to-low 20Cs elsewhere.
Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “We are starting to see some fresh air come in over the next couple of days.”
A band of cloud and patchy rain in the north will push the humidity out towards the east on Sunday afternoon, he added.
It will be a “bright sunny day for most people and it will actually feel like a typical summer’s day.
“(It) will feel a lot more comfortable compared to what we saw at the end of last week.”
Heat and humidity caused thunderstorms to develop which contributed to flight disruption on Saturday.
A total of 484 inbound and outbound flights were delayed across Gatwick and Heathrow airports by the evening, according to the FlightAware tracker.
Meanwhile, early on Saturday morning, Kent Fire and Rescue Service were responding to three house fires caused by lightning strikes.
The heatwave smashed the long-standing record for June heat, which dates back to the summer of 1976, by more than 1C, which is significant given such records were usually broken only by a fraction of a degree in the past.
Scientists warned that the heatwave would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago, with human-driven climate change fuelling more intense and frequent extreme heat events.
Health chiefs flagged the impact the conditions were having on services this week as they faced significantly more life-threatening emergency calls.
Hundreds of schools and nurseries were forced to close and a hosepipe ban was brought in for Kent amid surging demand.
Several hospitals declared critical incidents, with University Hospital Southampton forced to cancel a number of planned operations and some outpatient appointments.
The heatwave was driven by a “heat-dome” – an area of high pressure that stalls over a region and traps heat – settling over western Europe and bringing extreme conditions across the continent.
Published: by Radio NewsHub