A BLAZING hot weekend saw mercury busting temperatures for Hampshire – and there’s more scorching sun on the horizon for this week.

Sweltering Southampton was the hottest in the country on Saturday with thermometer readings peaking at 32C (89.6F) – making it the hottest July day since 2006.

Meanwhile over in Bournemouth about 100,000 people shared the seven-mile stretch of sand and one ice-cream company said it recorded £17,000 of sales compared with £1,000 on the same day a year ago.

Temperatures were only slightly lower yesterday and forecasters say the hot spell is set to last into next weekend when many primary and secondary schools are starting their six-week summer holiday.

Today is forecast to be round about 27C.

The rest of the week will see temperatures roaming between the mid to high 20s, with the exception of Wednesday which is another contender for the hottest day of the year when Hampshire could bake under readings exceeding 32C (89.6F).

MeteoGroup forecaster Gareth Harvey said: “It’s going to stay hot throughout the week, particularly Wednesday, and into next weekend.

“There’s a small hint that things could begin to change beyond that but we can’t be sure yet.”

But the merciless heat prompted warnings from health authorities urging the public to take care in the potentially “dangerous” heatwave conditions.

Retailers and supermarket giants reported booming sales figures as the soaring heat saw shoppers spend thousands on the high street and in an online blitz on barbecues, food, sunscreen and garden furniture.

Veteran meteorologist Michael Fish, who famously reassured television viewers there was no hurricane on the way just hours before 1987’s Great Storm, has predicted rain for St Swithin’s Day tomorrow.

Legend has it that if it rains on the day, it will rain for 40 days and 40 nights.