Princess Diana's childhood home catches fire
Soaring temperatures in the UK have caused fires to spark across the nation - with London’s firefighters recording their busiest day since WWII - with one of the many homes at risk including at Althorp House, the childhood home of Princess Diana.
The home is now owned by Earl Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother. His wife, Karen Spencer, shared the news of the blaze on social media.
“Fire in one of our fields today,” Countess Spencer wrote in an Instagram story on Tuesday.
She later shared a follow-up video reassuring followers the situation was “under control” thanks to the “amazing” local fire department and team at Althorp.
Karen Spencer documented the fire that sparked at Althorp House and praised the “amazing” work of firefighters in quenching it. Images: Instagram
Later that day, Earl Spencer posted a photo on his Instagram page of the home after it began to rain.
“Althorp enjoying a few drops of rain tonight that follow the hottest recorded day England has ever had,” he captioned the shot.
The country experienced temperatures of 40.3 C in Coningsby on Tuesday, breaking 2019’s record by 1.6 degrees.
The heat was followed by a welcome downpour that brought temperatures down to 19 C overnight in London.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, told Sky News it prompted a huge surge in calls to the city’s emergency services.
“Yesterday was the busiest day for the fire services in London since the Second World War,” he told the program on Wednesday.
The fire service received more than 2,600 calls - significantly higher than its usual 350-600 a day - with 41 properties destroyed and 16 firefighters injured.
“The challenge in London is we have a lot of grass, a lot of green spaces and a lot of that impinges on properties. And when you have not had rain for a long period, when the grass is incredibly dry, fires can start very quickly and spread even faster because of wind and that leads to properties being destroyed,” Khan said.
“A lot of the problems we have here today are a direct consequence of climate change, excess death because of the heat wave.
“A lot of these problems can be solved by tackling climate change expediently, rather than kicking the can down the road.”
Though the heat is expected to continue over the next couple weeks, the 14-day forecast has predicted significantly lower temperatures with tops of 28 C.
Images: Getty Images / Instagram