Derbyshire’s wild weather captured by readers

Intense thunderstorms during Friday night and Saturday sparked spectacular lightning bolts and flash flooding across the county.

While storm chasers looked on in awe, the deluge washed out many areas of Derbyshire – including Chesterfield, Bolsover, Ripley and Bakewell – damaging homes and causing travel disruption.

A spokesman for the county’s fire service said it received 80 calls about flooding in the space of just one hour on Saturday night.

The disruptive thunderstorms were triggered by hot and very humid air from Spain.

Health chiefs issued a heatwave alert for Derbyshire on Friday when temperatures topped nearly 30C – making the county hotter than Barbados.

However, sun-lovers desperate to catch some rays were left disappointed as cloud failed to shift during the day.

The remainder of this week looks set to be very warm and humid with the increasing chance of heavy showers, according to the Met Office.

Dr Ben Milton, chair of NHS North Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), has issued these top tips for staying safe in the sun:

• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration in hot weather

• Regularly apply sunscreen with a factor of at least 15 and preferably higher

• Always use sunscreen to protect babies and children and ensure they have plenty of fluids when outside in the open air

• Make sure children do not become overheated or dehydrated when indoors

• Avoid sunbathing between 11am and 3pm when the sun is at its hottest

• If travelling by car, take drinking water for the journey and ensure children do not become overheated

• Never leave children or pets in parked cars

• Ideally wear a hat and light, loose-fitting long sleeved clothes, preferably cotton

• Use sun glasses that offer your eyes 100 per cent UV protection

Alan Richmond, of Derbyshire fire service, said: “Summer is a time when everyone can enjoy themselves but the heat can trigger all manner of emergency situations – from fires in the open to people getting into difficulty in rivers, weirs and reservoirs.

“With many of our schools breaking up for the summer, I would particularly ask parents to talk to their children about the dangers of unknown water and to ensure they are always aware of where their children are playing.”