Farmers in East Anglia have warned that the region's continued dry spell is beginning to cost them, as the region experienced the hottest start to May on record.

At the Elveden estate on the Norfolk and Suffolk border - the largest lowland farm in Britain, spanning 10,000 acres - bosses say the continuing dry spell and the heat are starting to impact crops

March and April have seen only 28mm of rain combined, just 35% of the average of 79mm usually seen in the region.

"Today, we're probably going to irrigate about 200 acres of crops," Andrew Blenkiron, managing director of Elveden Farms, told ITV News.

"That's a cost of about £10,000 just today for the electricity to pump and a bit of the cost associated with running the kit," he added.

The lack of rainfall has reinforced existing concerns among scientists about the long-term impact, especially as more homes are built across the East.

"We've seen a really dry March and quite a dry April as well," said Professor Aled Jones from Anglia Ruskin University. "We don't currently have enough water for the growth plans. As we're seeing more growth plans coming on board, we will need a lot more water to manage the new hundreds of thousands of homes that are planned.

"The other challenge is climate change. So as we do get drier springs and drier summers and wetter winters, we need to store the water over the winter to be able to meet existing demand over the summer."

On Thursday temperatures peaked at a 27.8C in Santon Downham in Suffolk.

Met Office scientist Emily Carlisle said: “It is quite unusual for temperatures to hit 25C fairly widely in April. The last time was in 2018, and before that April 2011.”

East Anglia has also had the sunniest April since records began in 1910.

At Ashill in Norfolk, the scene of devastating wildfires that destroyed homes in 2022, fears about extreme temperatures and their dangers persist, nearly three years on.

"Most people in the village get a bit jittery about it all," said Alan Ketteringham, chairman of Ashill Parish Council.

"Some of the young children are still devastated by it. The school were telling me yesterday that they have a counsellor who comes in once a week, and they're still counselling children who were involved in the fire."

Fire services across the East are reminding people to play their part to protect against wildfires by avoiding disposal barbecues and discarding cigarettes and litter properly.

"We've got some farmers coming on board, so we get access to water in fields now," said Aeneas Postlethwaite, from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

"With the water rescue equipment as well that we've invested in, we're matching our resources to what we feel are the foreseeable risks for the next five years."