The summer of 1976 was our longest recorded spell of hot weather. Back then the south west of England went for 45 days without any rain at all.
Early on in May of that year there was a taste of things to come when the temperature reached a mighty 29c as early as May 7.
The heatwave of 1976 was the hottest since records began and was accompanied by a severe drought.
The summer of ’76 was the culmination of 18 months of continually drier than average weather. Temperatures of 30c were recorded for 18 days running.
The mercury reached 35.6 Celsius in Southampton that June 28, the highest June temperature ever recorded in Britain.
Hard-pressed fire crews battled terrifying fires in the tinder-dry New Forest and at Hurn.
The heatwave ended with a thunderstorm in September – days after the government appointed a minister to deal with the drought.
Remarkably – people were even attacked by ladybirds!
They were hungry because there weren’t any aphids to eat so they started biting humans instead.
The water shortage made the front page of the Echo on July 28, 1976, with a larger than usual invasion of holidaymakers putting a strain on Dorset’s drought-hit water supply and people having to drink from standpipes.
The Wessex Water Authority, which supplied an area stretching from Lyme Regis to Marlborough, reported that the population in the area during the heatwave had soared from 50,000 to 1,250,000 since the peak holiday season began.
A Save the Water campaign encouraged a 20 per cent reduction in the amount of water used – but it was less in Dorset because of the number of visitors not affected by the restrictions.
Max King, Avon and Dorset divisional director, said: “We think that if the public continue to operate as they have since our Save the Water campaign started that we shall not have to take more extreme measures such as rationing water or using standpipes.
“I am grateful for the way members of the public have responded.”
A downpour finally ended the 1976 drought and people were seen dancing in the streets.