How to cope in a heatwave – according to you

Stephanie says she has also started sprinkling her seven-year-old daughter’s bed sheet with water and putting it in the freezer for about half an hour before bedtime – long enough for it to be cool for falling asleep on, but not long enough for it to actually freeze.

Gordon Cooper, 73, from High Wycombe, told BBC Your Voice that he hangs a wet bath towel in his bedroom and places his fan nearby to help cool down the room.

Others have been changing where they sleep to escape the stifling heat.

During the last heatwave, Anabelle Holschuh, 30, found it so hard to sleep in her attic bedroom that she picked up a blanket and cushion and slept on the floor in the hallway.

This time round, Anabelle, who lives in London, is sleeping on her living room sofa, which is north-facing and in a room with tall ceilings and an electric fan. “Last night I slept fairly well on the sofa, so no need to wander further downstairs to the hallway,” she says.