HOTTING UP: March loses 26-year-old October heat record as Britain bakes

MARCH relinquished a record it had held for 26 years today after temperatures soared to the highest ever seen in October.

Weather watchers kept their eyes focused on the Fenland town to see if its record of 84.9F (29.4C) recorded on October 1, 1985, could be beaten.

The Met Office had thought March would cling onto its record for the “hottest ever October 1” - but at around 2pm in Gravesend, Kent, the temperature reached a sizzling 85.8F (29.9C).

Temperatures across the country topped those at a host of exotic locations, with Wales also welcoming a new October record.