IT was a scorcher across Oxfordshire yesterday with the mercury reaching 33.4C at Benson yesterday afternoon – the highest temperature of the year so far in the county.

But it is set to be a cooler day today with temperatures of 22 or 23C forecast.

Met office forecaster Alex Burkill said it will be a fine start to the day but will quite quickly turn cloudy with showers coming in from the south.

 

He said the sunshine is expected to return by this evening as the showers pass northwards.

Temperatures will recover again tomorrow though, with highs of 27C expected for parts of Oxfordshire.

There will be showers on Friday evening but Saturday and Sunday are expected to be mainly fine with temperatures in the mid 20C. 

With the temperatures going beyond 30c, Hinksey Pool has seen an astonishing 2,000 people taking a dip to cool off in the past two days.

Steve Lee, marketing manager at the lido on Abingdon Road, said the pool was packed to capacity by 11am yesterday and staff had to operate a one-in, one-out system on the door.

He said: “We can’t exceed our capacity. If we did that and someone was to drown it doesn’t bear thinking about.

“There were queues but the waiting times weren’t ridiculous. I think the maximum waiting time was an hour.”

But those who couldn’t get in won’t be disappointed for long as the pool is expected to open a new grass sunbathing area in two-weeks time which will double its capacity.

Mr Lee added: “It was a fantastic day and a lot of fun, and we’re hoping for more to come over the weekend.”