SWEATY Swindonians made the most of the blazing sunshine that shone over the town yesterday as a week-long heatwave began.

Tropical temperatures skyrocketed to highs of 33 degrees and this gave families and friends a good excuse to get out and enjoy the town's scenic parks.

Alice Clarke brought her four-year-old daughter Martha to Coate Water along with dog Tilly, Martha’s friend Florence and her mum Emily Kew.

Alice said: “It’s been lovely, we had a walk around with an ice cream then sat in the park to relax in the sunshine.

“The heat is great as long as you can find shade and keep cool. It can get a bit much sometimes but it lets the kids burn off energy.”

Martha said: “I played football at Busy Bees school then went here to have an ice lolly.”

Emily said: “It was like this last year for a long time and it was horrendous, but it’s quite nice when it’s just for a couple of days.”

Andrew Brown came down from Portsmouth to take his 80-year-old dad Cyril for a day out.

Andrew said: “I picked him up from the care home and we went to Lechlade for lunch, then came to Coate for a quick ice cream.

“It’s brought back a lot of memories. I used to live in Stratton and came here as a lad with my mates to fish and dive off the diving board.

“Dad has Alzheimer’s so I bring him here every time I visit because it triggers his memory.

“The heat isn’t too bad. I used to live in the Middle East so this weather was actually quite nice by comparison.”

Detlef Jenkins brought his daughter Courtney and grand-daughter Phoebe to wander round. He said: “When you’ve got something like this on your doorstep, why not go out and enjoy it, especially on a day like this?”

More hot weather is on the way with highs of 27 degrees Celsius expected today before jumping back up to a forecasted 33 degrees tomorrow.

A weather warning for thunderstorms ended at 9am.