Thames Water has said the broken 30-inch pipe does not supply homes so water should not be affected, adding that the conduit is a trunk main and not a sewage pipe as some witnesses claimed. Footage shared on social media shows flooding on several roads which have been closed nearby. And we're meeting regularly with NHS leaders, with ambulance chief executives, to closely monitor the impacts, and particularly the handover times, so we can mitigate those with the increased pressure they're facing.'Ī burst water main has flooded streets in south-west London as temperatures soared across the UK.Īround 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines responded to the scene on Galsworthy Road in Kingston upon Thames on Monday morning, alongside the police. 'The contingency plans, that are well established, have been activated. It's why we put additional funding in - an extra £150 million for the ambulance service, a further £50 million for 111, and indeed other support such as £30 million for auxiliary ambulances. That's why we put more call handlers in place. 'So that's the point of maximum concern, but we're seeing an increase in calls.

'But there's also a time lag in the data because the highest point of the expected heatwave is actually going to be tomorrow afternoon. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the emergency services are already starting to see an increased volume of calls.įollowing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee he said: 'We're seeing an increase in calls and the extra resource we have put in place is to manage that. Meanwhile, 11 out of London's 15 Tube lines faced minor or severe delays or suspensions from 6pm.Īll flights were halted for two hours at London Luton Airport after a 'runway defect' in the sweltering weather, sparking delays of up to four hours and diversions to Stansted.įlights at RAF Brize Norton, the RAF's largest air base, were also grounded after the Tarmac melted.īritain's hottest day of the year saw 38.1C recorded in Suffolk, and forecasters are predicting up to 43C on Tuesday, which would be an all-time UK record. Just 67 per cent were within ten minutes of being on time. Some 2,000 services out of 12,800 across the UK were either more than 30 minutes late or axed entirely on Monday, official figures seen by The Telegraph show. The evening rush hour was thrown into chaos as Britain's railways buckled under the record-breaking 'red-alert' heatwave.Ĭommuters faced swathes of cancellations and delays at major stations, with huge crowds piling up at London St Pancras, trains axed at most London terminals and hold-ups of more than an hour in Cardiff and Edinburgh. Highest temperature today: 38.1C in Suffolk.Your essential guide to surviving the heatwave.In pictures: Extreme weather torches Europe.France on high alert as forest blazes rage.

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