Households in England are being urged to fill up a hot water bottle this Tuesday as temperatures of up to a sweltering 34C are forecast.

Bank Holiday Monday officially broke records for the hottest May day ever recorded in the UK, and on Tuesday the hot weather is set to continue to bake Britain, with England in particular facing the hottest conditions alongside Wales, while Scotland and Northern Ireland cool slightly.

The Met Office is forecasting more baking hot weather for England on Tuesday with temperatures expected to climb above 33-34C again, especially in the South East of England and London, while the UKHSA's Heat Health Alerts remain in place for all 9 regions of England.

The Met Office's forecast for Tuesday says: "Another sunny day across England and Wales as the heatwave continues, with a small chance of a few heavy, thundery showers. Fresher for Scotland and Northern Ireland with sunny spells.

While the warm weather is glorious during the day, by night it can make sleep pretty uncomfortable with the heat making it difficult to drift off, resulting in a frustrating night of tossing, turning and kicking the quilt off in a desperate attempt to cool down. But you don’t have to resort to running fans for hours on end cool your room as all you need is a hot water bottle.

Although the primary purpose of a hot water bottle is to keep you lovely and warm, but it can also be used to achieve the opposite effect if you fill it up with cold water instead.

Simply fill up a hot water bottle with ice cold water and place it in your bed just before you go to sleep to help cool down your sheets and pillow.

You can also hold it against your skin to cool yourself down, but remember to wrap it in a cover or a tea towel if it’s icy to avoid direct contact with your skin.

To make it even colder, you can also fill the bottle with cold water and then put it in the freezer, but be wary of leaving it in there for too long as it can damage the rubber, meaning it could burst the next time hot water is added.

So if you do put it in the freezer, make sure to only fill the bottle half way rather than to the top, or just keep one bottle separate for cold use and the other for hot.

Heat-Treats says: “It’s simple; just fill your bottle with iced water, ice cubes or crushed ice. The bottle acts in the same way in reverse; instead of releasing warm heat it emits refreshing cold. Contrary to hot water which will gradually cool down, the icy water will eventually warm up until it reaches room temperature.

“Some people suggest that you can fill your bottle with cold water and then place it in the freezer to chill further, although it shouldn’t be left for more than 20 minutes otherwise the rubber can become compromised and may rupture. The best plan is to have different bottles for heat filling and cold filling.

“You can also use your cold hot water bottle for cooling down your sheets or pillow before you go to bed. If your bottle doesn’t have a cover, wrap it in a tea towel or pillowcase to prevent overexposure to the cold next to your skin.”

This is backed by charity The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE). In its guidance, it says: "CSE’s Pete suggests filling your hot water bottle halfway with water and put it in the freezer a few hours before bed. Once frozen, it’ll emit cold in the same way that it warms you up if you use hot water."