Household waste recycling centres in Rutland are to close earlier in the day this week amidst the ongoing heatwave, Rutland County Council has announced.

The North Luffenham household waste recycling centre (HWRC) will close at 4pm, rather than its usual summer closing time of 6pm.

The council has said the schedule change is only temporary, forecasting the North Luffenham HWRC will be back to its usual opening hours by Saturday (June 27) , "subject to weather conditions".

The Cottesmore HWRC will remain closed until Friday as per its usual schedule, but is then also expected to temporarily close at 4pm until temperatures fall.

The council announced on Monday that refuse collection teams would start earlier in the day this week, at 6am rather than 7am, to avoid the worst of the heat. This schedule change is due to end on Friday (June 26).

Temperatures are expected to rise to 36°C in Rutland on Thursday (June 25), according to the Met Office, while elsewhere in the UK, the mercury may reach as high as 40°C.