ESSEX is set to sizzle in a heatwave this week as forecasters predict the hottest June on record.

While today and tomorrow are set for cooler temperatures and blustery winds, with 17C predicted for the county, by Thursday and Friday the mercury is tipped to reach 22C across Essex.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the weather looks set to stay warm and dry although there may be thunderstorms over Essex brought on by the hot weather Friday night.

Bookies have slashed the odds on Britain enjoying the hottest June on record.

Rain and gales will be replaced by blazing sunshine with the mercury expected to hit 28C in some parts of the country this weekend, rivalling resorts in the Mediterranean.

Bookmakers Coral say that with the fine weather expected to last all month "we think it could be the hottest in British history".

As it stands, the hottest June on record was in 1976, when the mercury soared to 35.6 in Southampton.

The 1976 heatwave went down in history as one of the driest, sunniest and warmest summers on record, plunging the country into a severe drought.