Families head to Southsea to make the most of sizzling heat

With temperatures reaching 27C down on the South coast, families set out to make the most of the weather and catch up the rays with the school summer holidays soon coming to a close.

Stuart Johnson, 39, from West Meon, brought son, Jack, down to the beach to make the most of the heat.

He said: ‘I’ve just bought him a brand new bike so we thought that it would be the perfect day to bring him down here and take it for a test ride.’

With Jack set to return to school in the coming weeks, Stuart said yesterday was the perfect time to get out and about.

He added: ‘It’s so nice at the moment that I just thought let’s go relax and soak up the sun.’

Carol Jones, 72, from Farlington and Jean McQuoid, Southsea, 73, said the weather was just too good not to head down to the beach.

Carol said: ‘We just thought that we would come down and make the most of what we have down here in Portsmouth.

‘We are very lucky to have a coast this beautiful and weather that is this relaxing.

The friends were sat on a bench on the promenade soaking up the rays.

Jean added: ‘This is absolutely lovely weather and Portsmouth really is the place to be when it’s like this.’

Some people had made a journey to Southsea especially for the day at the Seafront.

Sarah Clements, 37, from Reading, had come to the beach with her children, Jacob, 18, Leo, 15, Tommy, 3, and nine-month-old Tyler.

She said, ‘We usually come down every year. It’s been so sunny so we’ve had a lovely day today”.

Jurgen Smith, who served in the Royal Navy and his wife Faith, visited the city from Boston, Lincolnshire.

Mrs Smith said “We’re here for a break, I’ve already walked about six miles with my walking stick!”

Rosalyn Temporal-Hughes, 54 from Basingstoke, came down to the city to enjoy the sun with husband, Aidan, 55.

She said: ‘It is like heaven on earth down here right now. We’ve come for the sea but this weather is a big bonus.’

The heatwave is set to continue into today with resident warned that temperatures could reach 31C during the day and 16C overnight.

Additional reporting by Tanzeela Rahman and Aladdin Benali