BASINGSTOKE basked in high temperatures on Friday as a heatwave swept across the south of the country.

Residents were spotted enjoying a dip in the ford in North Warnborough and sunbathing in Eastrop and War Memorial Park.

Others cooled down with a pint at The Angel and other pubs across town.

The good news is the warm weather is set to continue this weekend, with the town on course to be hotter than Ibiza with highs of 33C. The party isle - which is currently subjected to a travel ban as well as mainland Spain - will reach 30C.

The hot spell is forecasted to start on Thursday with temperatures in Hampshire expected to be around 26°C to 28°C.

On Friday and Saturday the temperature is creeping up even further up to 33C.

The UK’s temperature will top popular tourist spots including Lisbon, Istanbul and Prague.

The Met office has said that heatwave conditions are ‘likely to be met’ in Hampshire as temperatures are predicted to be above 27° for three days in a row starting on Thursday and expected to last until at least Sunday.

In other, parts of the country the temperature is predicted to be even hotter with highs of between 34°C and 37°C in the south-east of England on Friday.

The Met Office said ‘southerly winds arriving across the UK from continental Europe in combination with high pressure’ are the reasons behind the sunny spell.

This heatwave comes after Friday was recorded as the UK's third hottest day on record where temperatures reached 37.8C at Heathrow Airport.

The hottest day in August ever to be recorded was in 2003 where it reached 38.5C in Faversham, Kent.

The Met Office warned last week that the global climate crisis was having an “increasing impact” on the UK, with data showing an “undeniable warming trend”.