Europe heatwave live: UK breaks temperature record for June as parts of France hit 40C

West Sussex reports temperature of 35.8C, beating previous record from 1976; red weather alert extended to 72 of France's 96 mainland departments

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Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.

It is possible we could see temperatures higher than the 39C if the final values are at the upper end of our narrow range," he said, according to the Press Association.