Cathedrals across the country are taking advantage of the heatwave, telling hot and bothered Britons they are the coolest place in the city.

As temperatures soar above 30 degrees in some parts of the UK, the relatively cold insides of the country's cathedrals may seem like an ideal place to seek sanctuary.

Canterbury Cathedral is encouraging locals and tourists alike to stop in and eat their lunch there, away from the sun's rays.

A spokesperson said: "It's always cool in our cloister, we have asked people if they want to come in on social media, people do come in at lunchtime and people who live in the local area have passes where they can come in for free, so they do come in to cool down at lunch."

Those who work at York Minster have said it is one of the coolest places in the city, and a tweet from the official account encouraged people to come and recover from the burning heat.