EAST Lancashire basked in the hot weather yesterday after temperatures shot up across the country.

The mercury reached a whopping 29C across the region - as London recorded its highest temperature of 36.7C.

Workers and school pupils were left to cope with the sweltering heat while some were more lucky and headed for the county’s tourist ‘hotspots’.

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However despite the good weather, the Environment Agency yesterday warned of heavy rain hitting the North West and issued advice to people to prepare for flooding after other areas had significant downpours.

Mark Paul, who co-owns Hudson’s Ice Cream Shop in Chatburn, said: “The ice cream trade is ruled by the sun so we welcome every sunny day.

“It’s been heaving in the shop and we have been working flat out this week to make sure we stay ahead with making the ice cream.

“Having a local school nearby also helps trade for sure but we can’t rely on that all the time.

“When 3.30pm rolls around we have all of the kids in the shop and we are very busy but that’s the way we like it.

“These sorts of days allow us to be more secure during the winter months which is very important.

“The good weather certainly is very good for trade.”

The warm summer weather had led to a pod of dolphins being spotted off the coast of Blackpool.

East Lancastrians making a trip to the seaside to make the most of the warm weather could be lucky enough to see bottlenose dolphins playfully jumping out of the water.

The rise in temperature, along with a host of smaller fish to munch on, could have prompted the move, according to the county’s Wildlife Trust.

Spokesman Alan Wright said: “There’s been quite a few sightings of different things this year. We had a hump back whale off the Liverpool coast and a pod of 100 bottlenose dolphins there a couple of weeks ago.

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“It’s not massively rare but we have seen more activity this year. The Irish sea is full of life.”

Roy Chetham, the Lancashire Telegraph’s weather expert, said: “It’s quite unusual that we have temperatures nearing 30C.

“It has been six years since we last had one and 15 years since it happened in June.

“Back in the 1960s and 1970s we would regularly have three or four days like this in June, July and August. It’s much rarer now that we have that.”

Patrick Tostevin, the curator of the Ribchester Roman Museum, said: “We are right by the river bank and over the last few days we have seen an increase in visitor numbers.

“That’s because it’s a very popular location and people will pop into the museum as something else to do while they are in the village. The better the weather the more people will visit.”