Southern Water, which owns Testwood Lakes, says it is aware of the ongoing multi-agency emergency response following reports of a missing young boy at its nature reserve near Totton.

"Our thoughts are with the boy's family and friends at this deeply worrying time," it said in a statement.

"We would strongly urge members of the public to follow police advice, avoid the area, and allow emergency services to carry out their search."

The reserve is managed day-to-day by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

The red heat health alert for the region from the UKHSA, which was in force until tomorrow night, has been extended so that it now finishes at 23:00 BST on Friday.

It comes after a day of soaring temperatures.

The record for the hottest ever June day in the UK has been provisionally broken, with temperatures soaring to 36.1C recorded in Gosport, Hampshire.

In a statement, Testwood Lakes said it was “extremely concerned” to hear of the “serious incident”.

“Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police has confirmed that a multi-agency operation is underway following a report that a 15-year-old boy is missing after he was last seen swimming at Testwood Lakes,” it said.

“We have taken the decision to close the nature reserve until further notice and join the police in asking members of the public to please avoid the area at this time.”

You can read more about this incident here.

A 15-year-old boy has gone missing after he was last seen swimming at Testwood Lakes in Hampshire, police have said.

Officers were called at 13:35 BST and the area is currently off limits while a search operation is ongoing.

"We have deployed the marine units to aid in the search, alongside colleagues from NPAS, South Central Ambulance Service, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Service," police added.

"We will provide further updates when we are able."

We have approached the police and other emergency services in the vicinity of Testwood Lakes, near Totton, to find out what has caused the large scale response at the site.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service told us: "We were supporting our emergency service colleagues in response to the incident."

We'll bring you more information when we have it.

A number of cool spaces have been opened up in Slough for those who are finding the heat too much.

Slough Borough Council said: "Please take care of yourselves and use these spaces if you need to."

The council said the spaces, where there is air conditioning, water and seating will be open until 18:00 BST today and 10:00 - 18:00 on Thursday.

Image source, Slough Borough Council

Outreach manager for homeless charity St Mungo's issued a stark warning about the impact of the heatwave.

"If we don’t deliver water, somebody could die," Wendy Dodds said.

It’s not just in the winter that St Mungo’s, a homeless charity, is working hard. In temperatures like these the team is out on the streets giving water and sunscreen to rough sleepers in Reading.

The team is carrying heavy loads of water and sunscreen to areas where they know rough sleepers are based across the town.

Wendy added: "We’re walking a good few miles to deliver it, it’s tough for the team," she added.

Isabella Holliday
Portsmouth

Trains to and from Cosham station in Portsmouth - and most likely other stations on the line - are cancelled or delayed.

Station announcements say it’s due to a "failure of the electricity supply" or "faults on the train".

Staff have told passengers there's "no power" and they don't know when it'll be back.

One train has been parked up for nearly an hour and all passengers have disembarked.

There are no trains passing through at all and people are trying to make alternative plans like find buses or get taxis.

Hannah Walsh
BBC News

The road into Testwood Lakes is closed, with a police closure sign and cones in place.

A number of cars have pulled up to collect people - they were possibly at the lakes before it was evacuated - and many of those people are sat opposite the lake entrance on a grass area in the shade, trying to stay cool.

Emergency service vehicles are slowly leaving, including one ambulance and two fire and rescue vehicles.

Two search and rescue units have also arrived.

A large number of emergency services are gathering around the site of a nature reserve.

Police, fire and ambulance vehicles have been seen at Testwood Lakes, near Totton, Hampshire.

Two search and rescue units are also at the scene.

This site is closed until further notice.

Alex Meakin

The Hurst School in Berkshire is one of many across the county that have closed early today to shield pupils from the warm weather.

Headteacher Jayne McLaren told us: "The first most and important thing to me is always the wellbeing of my staff and students.

"The temperatures in some of the classrooms are in the high 30s now and we haven’t got the highest temperatures yet.

"We’ve had many trips to the medical centre. We have children that are suffering with heat exhaustion. It is difficult for us to keep them safe here.

"I really hope things are back to normal on Monday. The temperature looks like it's coming down to the early 20s which, compared to now, is tolerable."

Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth has declared a critical incident following the failure of some of its chiller units.

The loss of the cooling capacity has led to "elevated temperatures" in a number of areas across Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

Infrastructure affected includes digital systems, theatres, cardiac catheter laboratories, and diagnostic scanning facilities.

The trust says patients and staff remain safe, though the hospital is described as "very hot" and anyone attending should bring plenty of water.

Some appointments have been cancelled, but patients will be contacted if they are affected.

Deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Mark Orchard said despite the challenges "essential and emergency services remain available for anyone who needs them".

“The unprecedented pressures created by the current heatwave, combined with the failure of a number of our chiller units, have led to significant disruption across several of our services," he added.

"Our teams are working hard to repair the affected equipment, restore systems safely and ensure we continue to provide safe care for our patients."

The highest temperatures recorded so far in the South today have been at Bournemouth Airport and Thorney Island in West Sussex, where it was 34.7Cas of 14:00.

That tops yesterday, when the maximum temperature in England was 34.6C, and it's going to get hotter still.

Forecasters says the UK’s June temperature record, which stands at 35.6C, could be broken today.

Image source, Dorset Police

Dorset Police is asking that people make "sensible choices" and only call 999 "if a crime is in progress or there is danger to life" during the heatwave. Its website, external or dialling 101 can be used for anything else.

It says this is because calls to emergency services increase significantly during warm weather, citing the late May bank holiday weekend when the force saw a 69% increase in calls to 999 versus the previous year.

Chief Supt Gavin Dudfield said: “As we welcome residents and visitors to Dorset to enjoy our open spaces and coastline, we see a significant increase in demand on our services and it is vital that we do all we can to ensure everyone can have a good safe summer.

“Our teams are working tirelessly around the clock, having answered over 3,000 calls to 999 and attending over 1,000 incidents in the past seven days alone, ensuring we can protect vulnerable people and bring offenders to justice.

“We’re asking members of the public to play their part and reduce pressure on emergency services by making sensible choices and follow official advice."

Matthew Treacy
South of England

About 100,000 children in the BBC South region are being impacted by the partial or full closure of their school on Wednesday due to the high temperatures.

Schools usually contact parents in their own ways, often through apps or messaging services.

Our analysis suggests more than 192 schools in the South were closed or partially closed with 96,339 pupils at home.

Hampshire County Council,, external and West Berkshire Council,, external publish lists of reported emergency closures.

Oxfordshire County Council,, external also shares a list of schools that have closed suddenly, based on information provided by the schools themselves.

Children at some schools remaining open have been told they can wear PE kit rather than full school uniform.

Across England the BBC has counted 837 schools that have fully or partially closed.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Convenzis

Dr Dan Alton, a senior clinician at the Thames Valley Integrated Care Board and GP in Twyford, Berkshire has urged people to keep an eye on vulnerable friends and neighbours during the high temperatures.

Alton said: "Don't forget your friends and neighbours who may be vulnerable and who may be living alone.

"In many communities it's very important to call on your neighbours, knocking on their doors to make sure they're okay and are drinking enough."

He said this ensures warning signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are spotted quickly and help can be sought.

He added: "People should use the NHS 111 service as needed. Although the NHS is under pressure, we are here. We would rather people contacted us earlier, rather than leave it too late."

Matthew Treacy
South of England

On the A3, one of the South’s busy arterial routes, there is a lane coned off on the northbound section of the dual carriageway at Clanfield in Hampshire.

It's because of an "uneven road surface" which National Highways says has been caused by the hot weather.

From driving along the road it's clear to see, and feel, a significant hump in the carriageway, not dissimilar to a small speed bump.

Engineers say they’ll work to fix it tonight.

Image source, Marwell Zoo

Marwell Zoo has announced it will close today at 13:00 BST and all day on Thursday due to the extreme temperatures.

The zoo , externalsaid it had made the decision "in the interests of animal welfare, visitor safety and staff wellbeing".

It added: "⁠⁠We appreciate this may be disappointing for those who were planning to visit and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

"Guests with pre-booked tickets for the affected dates will have their tickets automatically extended until 31 July 2026, giving them additional time to plan another visit.⁠"

Image source, PA Media

Pastel parasols are out in force as visitors to Windsor shelter from the sun.

Due to the extreme heat there are no ceremonial guard changes at the castle, external on Wednesday or Thursday they have also been changed or cancelled in London.

The Household Division, a group of seven army regiments said: "The wellbeing of our soldiers, horses and the public will always come first."

Water Rescue team, Wessex Rescue said its team of volunteers had been put on standby to support the emergency services in Dorset and the surrounding counties as the red warning was now in place.

The charity said as well as its water rescue team it was also able to offer support including drones, communications, incident management, and volunteers to help the community if needed.