Frome's heatwave continued today (July 20) with Public Health England advising residents to stay out of the sun until at least 3pm.

In a health warning it also issued an advisory to drink plenty of fluids and avoiding excess alcohol and physical exertion during the hottest parts of the day.

The Met Office is warning that over the next few days many people could be at risk of sunburn or heat exhaustion, including dehydration, nausea and fatigue.

The more vulnerable are being warned of more adverse health effects.

It also warned that, as temperatures soar, some heat-sensitive systems and equipment may fail, leading to power cuts.

Meantime Somerset Highways has already been out to some of the county's 'melting' roads, with teams spreading granite dust to absorb the soft bitumen and so stabilise the road surface.

They explained : " The road network has 5% of 'polymer modified binders in hot rolled asphalt' roads. These can absorb up to 80C. But these are more expensive. A sunny day in the 20Cs can be enough to generate 50C on the ground as the dark asphalt road surface absorbs a lot of heat and this builds up during the day with the hottest period between noon and 5pm."

The hot weather is forecast to break on Thursday, with tomorrow (July 21) expected to be a little cooler, reaching 30 degrees at 4pm.

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