Visitors to County Show not put off by extreme heat

Scorching temperatures have not put people off attending the first day of one of England's largest annual agricultural shows.

Held at the Costessey showground on the outskirts of Norwich, the Royal Norfolk Show usually attracts up to 85,000 visitors every year for a two-day event celebrating the best of the county's farming and livestock.

Despite a red extreme heat warning issued by the Met Office for parts of the country from 09:00 BST on Wednesday to 21:00 on Thursday, organisers said the event would still go ahead as planned.

Caitlin, 23, said she had been drinking copious amounts of tea to try to stay cool and was staying in the shade with her fan.

In Norwich, near to where the show is being held, temperatures were expected to reach up to 33C.

The weather has led to a number of disruptions to services, including two emergency school closures in the county. Poringland Primary School & Nursery partially closed from 13:15 on Wednesday.

Include Schools Norfolk also announced it would be closed from Wednesday to Friday due to "extreme heat and distance pupils need to travel to school" which was deemed unsafe.

While owners have previously been encouraged to bring their four-legged friends along, the show is asking people to "think carefully" before bringing dogs along.

It says that if people do bring dogs, they should ensure the animals have constant access to fresh water, plenty of shade and somewhere cool to rest.

Some mitigating methods have included fans in cattle sheds and animals being sprayed down with hoses to keep them cool.

David Martin, a veterinarian and welfare adviser, said there were six vets at the show to keep an eye on the condition of the animals.

The team are making use of specialist thermometers which read the air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and relative humidity, to give a stress indicator on how the animals will be coping.

He said the show's programme had always been condensed to try and get as many animals seen and judged before the peak of the highest temperature.

As visitors come through the gates, they have been greeted by members of the Big C cancer charity who are providing free suncream.

Ed and Rebecca Clark along with their two-year-old daughter have just returned from a holiday in Orlando Florida.

They are making sure their daughter stays cool with a fan which also sprays cold water and staying in shaded areas.

Rebecca said: "We've prepped for around midday and we'll stay for a bit longer at a push, but it all depends on the heat but the shaded areas are lovely. Where all the fans are round the back, there is a nice breeze — it's just the direct sunlight.

"Our day will definitely be tailored around her. If she's had enough we will scoot off home."

This heat has also not stopped the Princess Royal attending, as she joined the Bishop of Norwich and Anna Mudeka, who runs the African Choir of Norfolk, for a performance.

Mudeka said: "I was nervous. I have to say but she made me really comfortable.

"We just wanted to show how proud we are of being here... it's about bringing colour and vibrancy and Norfolk allows everybody to do that.

"This is like October in Zimbabwe so we just went along with it but the heat is good. It's all part of it."

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