Storms and flash floods wash away the heatwave

But few expected its demise to be quite as dramatic as this.

Torrential downpours and storms will lash Britain today, causing flash floods in some parts of the country.

Soaked: A sunseeker is caught up in a brief summer downpour on the promenade at Weston-Super-Mare

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning last night, forecasting heavy showers across Wales and southern England.

The arrival of the rain brings an end to days of glorious sunshine, crowded beaches and temperatures approaching 30c (86f).

The baking heat and sunshine of the last few days has brought joy to many holidaying families - but tragedy for others.

A family from Gloucestershire were in mourning last night after a ten-year-old boy was swept to his death while playing on mud flats on the River Severn.

The boy, who has not been named, vanished after falling into deep water on Sunday night on a family day out at Alrlingham.

Seeking shelter: Bournemouth beach emptied quickly as the storms arrived

Chris Jackson, a spokesman for Gloucestershire Police, said the boy's body was discovered by a member of the public at 9.45am after an extensive all-night search.

'We believe he was playing in the mudflats with his cousin and uncle and tragically got swept away into deep water,' he said.

'Our general advice is not to go to mudflats like this. The tides can change rapidly.'

Temperatures topped 29c (84f) in London yesterday, only a couple of degrees cooler than Sunday, the hottest day of the year so far.

'It's been hot top to bottom,' said the Met Office's Barry Gromett. 'In parts of northern Scotland we got temperatures of 27c and 28c.

'However, rain is on the way and we may see some standing water on the roads, although it's not on the scale of last summer's floods.

'Things will be fresher and cooler for the rest of the week. It will be a little more pleasant but it will still be warm.'

Refreshing: These Ringtail Lemur's cool off by eating ice lollies at Drayton Manor Zoo near Tamworth in Staffordshire

A Met Office spokesman added: 'A band of heavy, thundery rain is expected to push northwards over eastern parts in the early hours, clearing by morning, and during the day heavy thundery downpours will develop in western areas.'

The changeable weather is turning out to be a theme of the summer.

After the scorching start to May, the second half of the month was chilly and wet. June was slightly warmer and sunnier than average - but also slightly wetter. Around 10 per cent more rain fell than usual.

July is on course to be cooler and wetter than average. By the 20th, around 78mm (3in) of rain had fallen, compared with the monthly average of 67mm (2.6in).

The warm spell has kept the country's barbecues and picnickers busy. Sainsbury's sold 600,000 melons and its shoppers were buying 800 cucumbers a minute over the weekend.

And if all the pork and pepper kebabs the supermarket chain sold over the weekend were laid end to end, they would reach a height of 29,000ft - as high as Everest.

Animals have also been wilting in the heat. At London Zoo, parrots have been feasting on lollies and ice cubes were given to the monkeys to keep them cool.