It’s not just sunworshippers that have been enjoying the warm weather – a local winery is also thriving in the high temperatures.

Meopham Valley Vineyards, in Wrotham Road, is expecting a large harvest thanks to the scorching summer heat this month.

Now owner David Grey is hoping to make 15-20,000 bottles of wine this year compared to just 2,000 last year.

“This weather is brilliant for us and we are now hoping for a large harvest.

“Because we had cold and wet weather in April and May, this year’s flowering was very late. We expect our grapes will finish flowering at the end of this week, so we got the right weather at the right time.

“It’s been good since the beginning of July, where as last year we had bad weather and very few grapes.”

The hot weather can also lead to higher alcohol levels in wine. The alcohol potential of grapes is directly linked to their sugar content, which increases with more sun and warmth.

For the past two weeks Gravesend has been enjoying scorching temperatures in the high 20s.

Now forecasters are predicting it could continue, making it Britain’s longest period of hot weather since 2006, when there were 16 days of consecutive sunshine.

But the temperatures are still some way off the highest ever recorded in the UK, which stands at 38.5C at Faversham on August 10, 2003.

The heat caused Public Health England to issue a warning urging people to check on the elderly as the hotter weather continues, to not leave their children in parked cars and to turn off electrical items that generate extra heat, such as computers.

It has also warned people to stay out of the sunshine between 11am and 3pm.