Fire crews continued to battle wildfires across the country last night, as experts warned that rare wildlife habitats devastated in the biggest blaze could take 25 years to recover.
Emergency services were hoping that cooler temperatures forecast for many parts of the UK in the coming days might ease the pressure on firefighters, after crews were called to hundreds of grassland fires in the past sweltering fortnight.
The Met Office announced that England and Wales were set to record the driest July since records began, adding that the month saw an 'exceptional combination of extreme heat, abundant sunshine and an almost complete absence of rainfall'.
Provisional statistics showed only 5.6mm of rain fell in England in July - less than half the previous record low of 13.4mm set in 1911. Wales saw only 7.9mm, almost a third of the previous record of 22.6mm also set in 1911.
The conditions have left much of England and Wales in drought, with over 24 million people under official hosepipe bans.
