The UK has seen its warmest start to May on record as temperatures soared to over 29C in the spring sunshine.

The Met Office said 29.3C (84.7F) had been recorded at Kew Gardens in southwest London, passing the previous 1 May record of 27.4C (81.3F) set in Lossiemouth in 1990.

Thursday was also the warmest day of the year so far, beating the previous high of 26.7C (80F) reached in Wisley, Surrey, on Wednesday.

Follow latest updates: May record broken

But the heat is not expected to last for the bank holiday weekend, with cooler weather starting to drift in from the north on Friday.

Temperatures are expected to ease by Friday and Saturday, meaning cooler conditions of 14C to 18C across the UK.

Stephen Dixon, a Met Office spokesman, said: “Temperatures tomorrow will be slightly reduced from what we’ve seen today, possibly 26 or 27 degrees in the far southeast of England through the day tomorrow.”

What has led to the hot spell?

Forecasters said the hot spell has been due to the jet stream remaining stuck north of the country, allowing high pressure to settle.

Last month was also the sunniest April in the UK since records began in 1910, with 47% more sunshine hours than the long-term meteorological average, and the third warmest April on record, according to provisional Met Office figures.

Rainfall was well below average for most of the UK last month, with just 56% of expected totals recorded.

And Tyne and Wear had its second driest April on record, with only 7% of its usual rainfall.

Boy’s body recovered from lake

Meanwhile, the recovery of a 16-year-old boy’s body from a lake in Nottingham prompted emergency services to warn about swimming in lakes and rivers.

Chief Inspector David Mather, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to highlight this case as a reminder of the devastating consequences of entering open water – regardless of whether people do so deliberately or inadvertently.”

The London Fire Brigade said its crews responded to 565 water-related incidents last year and have already attended around 160 in the first quarter of this year, with incidents ranging from rescuing people to animals stranded on lakes and ponds.

‘Water temperatures can be dangerously cold’

Assistant commissioner for prevention and protection Craig Carter said. “Even when the sun is shining, water temperatures can be dangerously cold. Cold water shock can affect anyone, no matter how fit or experienced they are. It can lead to water inhalation, and, in the worst cases, drowning.”

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) offered similar warnings, advising those planning to swim at a lifeguarded beach to swim between the red and yellow flags.

Fire services warned that the warm weather means there is a “heightened” risk of grass and wildfires which can spread more easily during the dry spell, as firefighters have been battling what they described as a large wildfire in the Peak District.

The RAC also cautioned drivers on the roads, with spokesman Rod Dennis saying breakdowns are expected to “soar”, while the NHS reported searches for hay fever advice had doubled from Monday to Wednesday.

Harrods, the luxury London department store, has become the latest in a string of prominent retailers to be targeted by cyber hackers.

Sky News has learnt that Harrods has been engaged in attempts to fend off a cyber attack after similar incidents in recent days involving Marks & Spencer and the Co-op Group.

Follow updates: M&S ‘forced to halt all recruitment’ | Money

Further details of the apparent Harrods cyberattack were unclear on Thursday afternoon, although one customer of the upmarket store told Sky News he had been unable to pay for a purchase earlier in the day.

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In a statement issued in response to an enquiry from Sky News, a Harrods spokesperson said: “We recently experienced attempts to gain unauthorised access to some of our systems.

“Our seasoned IT security team immediately took proactive steps to keep systems safe, and as a result, we have restricted internet access at our sites today.

“Currently, all sites including our Knightsbridge store, H beauty stores and airport stores remain open to welcome customers.

“Customers can also continue to shop via harrods.com.

“We are not asking our customers to do anything differently at this point, and we will continue to provide updates as necessary.”

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The concentration of cyber attacks on retailers underscores the growing centrality of the risk attached to consumer-facing companies’ online operations.

Harrods, which is owned by a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, is said to be engaging specialists to help resolve and investigate the issue.

M&S has been unable to accept online orders for the last week as a result of its cyber incident.

Police have revealed details around the dismissal of the co-instructor in a fatal paddleboarding trip.

Nerys Lloyd was jailed last month for the gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40.

The 39-year-old had also pleaded guilty to one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The four were part of a stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) tour of the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire.

They got into difficulty after their paddleboards passed over a weir in the town of Haverfordwest during “extremely hazardous conditions” in October 2021.

Lloyd was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the firm which had organised the tour.

The defendant, who worked as a firearms officer for South Wales Police, was separately accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour.

The misconduct hearing took place on 14 January 2022, but the publication of the outcome was postponed.

Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, South Wales Police has published the outcome of the hearing, which details that Lloyd was accused of making a fraudulent insurance claim.

Lloyd was dismissed without notice and placed on the police barred list.

The decision on the outcome, compiled after the hearing, states that Lloyd did not attend it and neither had she submitted a written response to the allegations.

Lloyd made a claim against the South Wales Police Federation group insurance scheme for her vehicle’s repair costs.

The cost of the work to repair the vehicle was somewhere between £16 and £20 but the insurance claim made by Lloyd was for £577.55.

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The report into her dismissal states that, when the matter came to light, she admitted her wrongdoing and immediately apologised.

She was interviewed under caution on 11 October 2021, less than three weeks before the fatal paddleboarding tour.

When interviewed by police, Lloyd said she had made a “massive error of judgement” in relation to the insurance claim and she later repaid the amount in full.