Monday was the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures reaching a sweltering 30C.

But if you remember the summer of 1976, the mercury regularly reached such high levels.

While hose pipe bans haven’t yet been introduced widely this summer, in 1976 many parts of the country went for 45 days without rain, including Milton Abbas.

A plague of seven-spotted ladybirds swarmed on southern and eastern coasts of England in late July.

On June 28, the UK’s highest temperature was recorded in Southampton, at 35.6 Celsius (96.1 Fahrenheit).

Heath fires unfortunately became a regular occurence.

Around 50,000 trees at Hurn Forest were destroyed by fire and Brownsea Island was even closed to the public because of the risk.

What are your memories of the heatwave of 1976? You can let us know in the comments below and share your pictures.