Heatwave triggers reservoir swimming warning

Doug Clarke, from Severn Trent, said swimming in reservoirs was "incredibly dangerous"

People are being warned not to be tempted to swim in reservoirs in the hot weather with a water firm describing the idea as "incredibly dangerous".

Doug Clarke, from Severn Trent Water, said the waters were deep, cold and contained lots of hazards including rocks and pipework.

His warning came as forecasts predicted the UK heatwave to intensify over the weekend with temperatures potentially reaching 34C in some parts of the country.

Speaking at Tittesworth Reservoir, near Leek in Staffordshire, Mr Clarke told BBC Radio Stoke: "We never encourage swimming in the reservoirs for a number of reasons.

"They're very deep, very cold and there are lots of hazards in there – lots of rocks around the water's edge, it's quite muddy and there's even some of our pipework in there."

He urged people to visit and enjoy the beauty spot by having picnics and walks around the site but "no swimming".

"It's incredibly cold and incredibly dangerous, even for the strongest swimmers," he added.

A heat-health alert is in place in England until Monday

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms for parts of northern England, the Midlands and Wales from Saturday afternoon into Sunday.

It came after an amber heat-health alert was issued in England by the UK Health Security Agency, which will remain in force until Monday.

Mr Clarke said the dry weather over the spring had left Tittesworth Reservoir at about 63% of its maximum water level which he described as "lower than you'd expect" at this time of year.

"It's not too much of a worry as this is one of many sources that supply this area," he added.