Even the lemurs at Bristol Zoo have needed to cool off with a refreshing treat as the UK sweltered amid a week-long heatwave.  

But where we would stick to more traditionally flavored fruit ice pops, Bristol Zoo's animals have enjoyed the more unusual taste of sweet potatoes, beetroot and corn on the cob ice lollies – topped with a bit of pepper or seed.

The heatwave led the Met Office, the national weather service, to issue the first of its newly introduced extreme heat-health warnings.

The bad news for heat lovers was that temperatures were set to return to the normal cooler (and wetter) weather to which people and animals in the UK are more accustomed.