IT was the warmest day of the year and the two counties were among the nation's hot-spots.

The mercury was fast rising across Worcestershire and Herefordshire, with temperatures soaring into the mid 30s and roads in the south of Worcestershire melting in the heat.

Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said temperatures had peaked at 35.3C (96F) in Worcester itself.

A spokesman for the Met Office said Malvern - predicted to be the hottest place in the country - hit temperatures of 33.4C (92F), while Pershore hit 34.6C (94F) and Hereford 34C (93F). The hottest place in the country was Charlwood in Surrey at 36.3C (97F).

In Malvern, people were lazing about in the town's Priory Park and licking ice-creams in a bid to keep their cool in the blistering heat.

Firemen were also on standby as

the town's station commander Jon Pryce said the scorching temperatures inevitably increased the risk and likelihood of fires on the town's dried-out hills.

The service has upped its initial response from one engine to two alongside two off-road vehicles to any calls to the hills as a result

Mr Pryce said: "The whole reason is if a fire starts you only need a little bit of wind and it spreads rapidly.

"What we're trying to do is close that time gap and catch it early to stop it developing into a bigger blaze."

He added the service had dealt with a couple of small fires over the past few weeks which it managed to catch early on.

Roads in the Malvern Hills district were also feeling the heat, with a mile-long stretch of the B4202 between Martley and Clifton-on-Teme melting, with gritters having to be deployed yesterday to spread sand on the roads and help soak up the bitumen.

Mike Davis, Worcestershire County Council's highways partnership manager for the Malvern Hills area, said the problem had been going on for several weeks. Several other roads between Clifton-on-Teme and the Worcestershire border have been affected by the weather.

Mr Davis added: "We think we may have a problem with the bitumen at that location and we're looking to a longer term solution when the temperatures drop.

"In the meantime we've put slippery road signs out to warn drivers of the dangers and they need to be careful.

Firefighters are also warning people of the dangers of jumping into the quarries on the Malvern Hills to cool off, which has previously led to several deaths.

Councils and fire authorities have also issued guidance to help prevent unnecessary blazes in the countryside. They say people should not have a bonfire of any size during the extreme weather, clear away picnic rubbish, do not discard cigarette ends out of car windows and refrain from having barbecues in the open countryside.

Meanwhile in Worcester, staff at Nunnery Wood High School took the decision to postpone the school's sports day by 24 hours until today as a result of the extreme heat.

Deputy head Jill Dillon said: "We were worried about the effects the temperature would have on everyone so we took the decision to postpone the sports day until Thursday when the temperature is supposed to be quite a few degrees cooler."

Mr Damari said the hot spell looks to continue for the rest of the week and into the weekend, with temperatures between 25C and 28C.