The bank holiday heatwave has started with a new record for solar power generation which blazed to a quarter of the electricity mix on Friday afternoon.

The nation’s solar panels scorched the previous record set last month by generating 8.7GW of power, more than nuclear and coal power combined.

Solar power was the second most used generating technology behind gas-fired power and made up around 25pc of the UK’s electricity, its highest ever share of the market on a working week day.

The UK now has just over 12GW of solar power in place, the same production capacity as eight new-generation nuclear reactors.

Paul Barwell, the chief executive of the solar trade association, said: “This is a colossal achievement in just 5 years, and sends a very positive message to the UK that solar has a strong place in the decarbonisation of the UK energy sector.”