THESE youngsters succumbed to the heat in their school classrooms.

Temperatures in classrooms at York's Scarcroft Primary School have soared up into the 90s over the past few days forcing, the head teacher to close the school early. The heat in the old Victorian school building has been so intense it has taken its toll on some members of the reception class who had asked to be allowed to lie down.

Head teacher Anna Cornhill, defended her decision to close the school at noon yesterday, today and tomorrow. She said: "We have had temperatures going into the 90s in the classrooms which makes for uncomfortable teaching conditions and some of the children have not been feeling well because of it with the younger ones wanting to lie down. The school is a Victorian building with very large windows and temperatures have been extremely high even before the beginning of the school day.

"We do not have the option of sending the children outside for a breath of fresh air as the school does not have a field and the Tarmac surface of the playground is itself a heat trap. Parents were notified of the half-day closure at the beginning of the week so they could plan any child care needs. I appreciate that the decision has created some problems for working families and I apologise for the inconvenience it has caused."

Today people were being warned not to jump into rivers and canals during the hot weather.

Police and fire chiefs have warned of the dangers of trying to cool down by jumping into cold water.

Graham Buckle, York's fire chief, said: "We would strongly advise against jumping in any rivers or canals. It may be tempting, but the water is very cold and that's what shocks you."

He said the practice had led to a couple of fatalities in the county in recent years, and added: "We have the rescue boat based in York that has to go wherever it's called to.

"But if it's away from York, anyone jumping in water in York has less chance of being rescued."

In a stark warning, a North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "This week there have been reports from right across North Yorkshire of youths and young men jumping from bridges and swimming in water that can be deadly cold. Police fear alcohol may have fuelled some of these acts of bravado.

"If people persist in believing they can drink then swim, then some of them will die."

Weather experts say temperatures in York topped the 30C mark this week.

Mike Elliott, senior technician at the weather centre at Askham Bryan college, said the maximum temperature recorded on Tuesday was 30.3C (86.5F). He said readings were recorded daily at 10am, and the early readings yesterday indicated it would be a slightly cooler day than Tuesday.

The risk to some of North Yorkshire's finest countryside is "exceptional", fire chiefs have warned.

Notices have gone up across the North York Moors National Park warning of an extreme fire risk.

Although much of the county's moorland "open access" areas have now been closed, vast areas of scenic countryside and woodland are still at severe risk of fires.

The Country Land and Business Association's Yorkshire director, Dorothy Fairburn, said: "Although most people are well aware of how fire can spread quickly and dangerously, the present extreme conditions are seldom encountered, and people forget how devastating fires are so easily started.

Thirty acres of dry straw went up in flames on the edge of the North York Moors another victim of yesterday's searing heat.

Eight fire engines from across North Yorkshire were tied up for more than an hour dealing with the blaze, which started just before 3pm. Firefighters from Pickering, Snainton, Malton, Kirkbymoorside, Helmsley and Scarborough were able to beat back the flames, just off the A169 at Lockton, near Pickering.

Train speeds reduced

GNER passengers arrived late at stations on the East Coast Main Line, including York, after the heat forced Network Rail to reduce the speed limit.

A spokeswoman said the limit was cut from 125mph to 90mph at midday yesterday, and it did not expect to restore the normal speed limit until about 8pm, when the heat was due to have subsided.

She said the restriction, which operated between Newark and London Kings Cross, was triggered when air temperature headed towards 36C, which would mean temperatures on the railway track reaching 55C to 60C.

GNER said trains between York and London arrived about 30 minutes late because of the slower speeds.