A TEN day heatwave will start today with temperatures set to reach highs of 28C.

Brits are expected to flock to beaches and fire up the BBQ as families prepare to enjoy the sunny school holidays.

It comes after environment minister George Eustice has called to ban the whole country from using their hose pipes.

And weather experts urged people to avoid the midday sun and stay in the shade as the warm temperatures are likely to last for ten days.

Met Office senior meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: "England and Wales will be dry with sunny spells.

"Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland will be cloudier with a risk of some patchy rain largely across the west of Scotland but there will be sunny spells across Northern Ireland.

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"Maximum temperatures will be around 27 and possibly 28C which would be across central and southern and southeast England area.

"It will still be in the sun further north, even to the east of Scotland we might see 23C."

Mr Dewhurst added it is "fairly unusual" to have prolonged dry weather in August, which tends to be a wetter month.

And Mr Eustice said water companies were right to ban hose pipes, and urged others to follow suit.

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He wrote in the Sunday Telegraph: "In accordance with their drought plans, water companies across the country have rightly taken action to mitigate the effects of this prolonged dry weather using the range of tools available to them.

"I strongly urge others to do the same".

More than two million Brits across Kent and Sussex have already been banned from watering their gardens, cleaning their cars or filling up pools with hose pipes.

And they face fines of up to £1,000 if the break the rules from Friday.

South East Water insisted it had "no choice" to implement the ban, which it says will reduce the amount of water that needs to be taken from "already stressed local water sources".

A Met Office map has also revealed when and where Brits can enjoy 30C heat by mid-afternoon on Wednesday.

Southwestern areas including Gillingham in Dorset, Oxford, and Gloucester are most likely to climb to the hotter temperatures.

It comes as an African plume is set to sweep across Britain next week.

Forecaster Stephen Dixon told The Sun: “Temperatures over the next week are set to head up – especially in southern areas of the UK.

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“There's a chance that heatwave criteria could be met in some places in the middle of next week with temperatures in the 30s.

“For a heatwave definition for us that would have to hit a certain threshold depending on the area for three days running."

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