26 June 1976: Paramedics are called out to over 40 fainting cases in Leeds, while overheating cars cause huge tailbacks
Flaming June scorched its way through the record books again yesterday, as the temperature soared to 91F (32.2C) in London, only a shade lower than the hottest day ever recorded in the capital, in 1940. Office workers stripped off and plunged into the fountains at Trafalgar Square, and the more sedate businessmen retained their bowlers and brollies while bathing their tired feet. But things were not so happy for hundreds of commuters who sweltered in the oppressive heat for 90 minutes when a tube train became stranded in a tunnel after a signal failure between Swiss Cottage and St John’s Wood. Passengers overcome by heat smashed windows and stripped to the waist. But when the train arrived at Baker Street after what should have been an eight-minute journey, no one needed hospital treatment. An inquiry is being held.
The AA and RAC reported a flood of calls from motorists whose cars had overheated. The M4 was blocked from Heston to Chiswick by a collection of broken down vehicles and there were tailbacks of three miles in both directions. The temperature at the AA station near Gallows Corner, Romford, Essex, was reported to have reached 101F, and it was said to be 99.7F at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. But the London Weather Centre said last night that some temperatures recorded during the day were misleading. “They were probably recorded in direct sunlight,” said a spokesman. Four places shared the honours as the hottest spots in Britain, he said: London; Heathrow Airport; Jersey; and Farnborough, Hampshire, all with 91F.
