The soaring summer temperatures are starting to kill off crops on Medway farms.

Farmers are struggling to keep their crops alive after experiencing weeks of dry weather and a lack of rain.

Mackays Court Farm, in High Street, Lower Stoke, is among those facing difficulties. A spokesman from the family-run farm said the warm, dry weather has caused problems for the past four weeks.

“Our cereal crops are not doing very well because of the weather. They are just starting to die,” she said.

“We have been irrigating the crops because of the heat, but it is a lot of effort and it is an ongoing job.”

She said the weather earlier in the year had been bearable, but if their cereal crops cannot be saved before harvest time next month it would be a ‘struggle’.

The farm, which has been in the family for over 50 years, could also face a smaller vegetable crop.

“We also grow potatoes and cabbages. We try to keep them growing as much as we can. We don’t want to see them dying. The yield could be smaller this year.”

But it doesn’t look like farmers will get relief anytime soon as forecasters predict the hot weather could continue for another two weeks, making it Britain’s longest period of hot weather since 2006 when there were 16 days of consecutive sunshine.

Throughout the week Medway has experienced temperatures in the high 20s and on Wednesday the Met Office issued a heatwave health warning.

The alert means a call for “heatwave action”, which requires social and healthcare services to take specific measures targeted at high-risk groups such as the very young, very old and those who are unwell.

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.