On a typical weekday, the large market in Newark-on-Trent is bustling with customers. But on Tuesday, when temperatures in the city reached 40C, only a handful of people were on the streets, with shops and pubs saying business was down significantly.
Newark – near Coningsby, Lincolnshire, the hottest place in the UK on Tuesday – was one of several towns deserted as shoppers stayed indoors to escape the heat.
There is a branch of Greggs in the market where staff said it was “much quieter” than normal, with staff tasked with carrying out training to fill their idle hours without any custom. By mid-afternoon they had sold very few sausage rolls, but plenty of cold drinks.
Next door is The Works stationery store, which had only seen two paying customers in the last few hours.
“They come for air conditioning and then they go again,” said supervisor Sue Poole, 53. “I’m catching up on paperwork that I wouldn’t normally be able to do.”
The kitchen at The Barge pub closed for the day for the first time and was only serving sandwiches. The weather just wasn’t right for someone to be standing in front of a pizza oven or working a deep fryer, said Samantha Sutton, the 55-year-old cook.
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