It’s going to be hot, hot, hot: three days of soaring temperatures ahead

The Netherlands is heading towards a hot weekend, with temperatures reaching up to the high 20s inland at the weekend and on Monday.

Saturday will be sunny everywhere with the temperature reaching as high as 30 degrees away from the coast, weather bureau KNMI said on Friday.

Some cloud may move in on Sunday and Monday and there could be the odd shower, but it will remain very hot for the time of year. It will be cooler but similar the rest of the week.

There were record Ascension Day traffic jams on Thursday as thousands of people headed for the beaches to make the most of the early summer.

Several dozen people were also arrested in the evening as fights broke out in Hoek van Holland, where the beach bar season officially opened.

First aid posts at the North Sea beach resort worked overtime to deal with some 200 people taken ill, due to a combination of sun, alcohol and drugs, the Telegraaf said on Friday.