Britain looks set to have a small respite from the warm weather following the hottest July day ever recorded yesterday.

Forecasters yesterday recorded temperatures of 36.7C, the hottest July day ever, but still cooler than the warmest day on record in August 2003 when temperatures reached 39.5C.

The Met Office has warned that there will be a “little bit of change in the air” as we lose the heat and the cloud rolls in across the south.

“We are starting to see showers along south coast and they will work northwards so by this afternoon they will be into Wales, and then by this evening Scotland, Northern Ireland,” Met Office spokesperson Daniel Panton-King told The Independent.

“Behind them conditions will brighten up, but the temperature will be a bit fresher.”

Meanwhile, yesterday parts of the country reported experiencing hail stones the "size of golf balls". Shocked residents in County Durham and parts of Scotland tweeted images of huge hailstones as they joked about the bizarre weather.

Other areas of the country saw fantastic displays of lightning last night.

Mr Panton-King continued that although it was “a bit early to say” the Met Office did not expect July to break the records for the hottest month. “It was only one day yesterday and temperatures are expected to remain warm but certainly around average for this time of year.”

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East Anglia is likely to be the hottest place in the country today, with expected highs hovered around 28C. London should see around 26C as temperatures get progressively colder the further north you travel.