How to cope in a heat wave – according to you

Stephanie said she started sprinkling her seven-year-old daughter’s bed sheets with water and putting them in the refrigerator for half an hour before she went to bed.

Gordon Cooper, 73, from High Wycombe, told BBC Your Voice that he hung wet bath towels in his bedroom and kept a fan nearby to help cool the room.

Others are changing where they sleep to escape the stifling heat.

During the last heat wave, Annabel Holschuh, 30, found it too difficult to sleep in her attic bedroom, so she took a blanket and pillow and slept on the floor in the hallway.

At this time, Annabelle, who lives in London, is sleeping on her north-facing living room sofa. “I slept well on the couch last night, so no need to go down the hall,” she said.