THE UK really did have its hottest day EVER yesterday, according to new figures released today.

The Met Office revealed this afternoon it had received a provisional figure of 38.7C from its Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

If the temperature reading is verified, that would make yesterday's scorching weather the hottest ever recorded in Britain.

The current highest temperature on record for the UK is 38.5 Celsius, recorded in Faversham in August 2003.

Today's news came as little surprise to Cambridge locals, who suffered through the heat and humidity of 'Furnace Thursday'.

Local David Cambridge said: "Standing in the centre of Cambridge yesterday and you closed your eyes you could have easily imagined you had been transported to North Africa.

"The nearest I have come to feeling the sort of heat we had here was driving in Death Valley in 1981!"

Carys, manager of the Panton Arms near the Botanical Gardens, revealed the extreme measures scorched locals resorted to for some relief from the sun.

She said: "People were going to the toilets just to splash their face with water.

"We really could have done with some air con."

Miriam Shovel, who was in Cambridge yesterday, tweeted: "It was insanely hot – the wind felt like a hairdryer!"

Another Cambridge resident said it felt like a "tropical world."

Bebe, manager of The Clarendon Arms, which is popular with fish and chips lovers, said their kitchen reached 49C yesterday but they were still able to serve all the customers.

Owner of the Tyrell's Punting Company, Michael, said the day was "extremely uncomfortable".

He added it was the "stickiest" day he had ever known and complained the humidity was "intense".

A supervisor at the Cambridge Blue Pub said the day was "extremely hot and sticky". However, in a sign of how the people of Cambridge did cope with the heat, he admitted it was "much busier than a normal Thursday."

The Met Office initially thought the hottest temperature recorded yesterday was 38.1C, also recorded in Cambridge, already making it the hottest July day ever.

The previous hottest July day was recorded in July 2015 with a temperature of 36.7C, however, the weather yesterday topped that by nearly two degrees.

The Met Office said in a statement this afternoon: "Following yesterday’s exceptionally hot weather, provisional figures received by the Met Office today could challenge the UK’s highest temperature on record."

Yesterday, pavements were melting around the country as the mercury rose to never-before-seen levels.

Dr Mark McCarthy from the National Climate Centre (NCIC) at the Met Office said: "As the official source of meteorological statistics for the UK, we take the quality of our recordings very seriously.

"We are talking about a potential new record for the highest temperature recorded in the UK and we therefore need to thoroughly investigate the observation with our partners from Cambridge University Botanic Garden through statistical analysis and by visiting, to check the site and equipment and ensure there are no potential problems."

After the heatwave, flash flood warnings are in force with thunderstorms and torrential rain to batter the UK this weekend after the country baked in the hottest July day ever.

The Met Office has warned that homes and businesses could be flooded over the next two days as the heatwave makes way for a deluge across the UK.

The flash floods could cause traffic chaos and damage to properties.

Heavy rainfall is expected to move erratically across the south-east and north-west of the UK this weekend and the Met Office has issued yellow warnings.

Experts are giving advice on how to protect properties from flooding, as the downpour is set to impact a large part of the country.

Up to 100mm of rain is set to fall in some places across the weekend.

Brits woke up to torrential rain this morning after lightning storms overnight brought an end to the heatwave.

The freak heatwave grounded flights and sparked rail chaos for passengers with one group of travellers held on a flight for 10 hours at Heathrow.

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