Pottery firm boss says heatwave too hot for kilns

The owner of a pottery manufacturing business has said production is operating at a fifth of what it could normally be due to the heat.

Charlotte Manser, owner of Charlotte Manser Ceramics in South Fawley, near Wantage, said temperatures in the room had reached above 40C, meaning she can only fire one kiln at a time.

It comes as parts of the UK endure the fourth widespread heatwave of the year so far, with droughts declared across more than half of England.

Manser said she would usually be preparing stock for Christmas, but staff had been left "trying to play catch-up".

Manser said it was costing her double to fire the kilns, due to the cost of re-heating them after they had turned off due to the high room temperature.

She said the business had been running at a reduced level of production since May and has had to adapt her working hours.

"Mostly we fire throughout the afternoon and overnight because it's too uncomfortable to be here," she said.

Manser said on a really hot day her sales were down to zero, and the prolonged hot weather had resulted in tens of thousands of pounds of products being delayed for wholesale customers.

"When we're having to do a fifth of our firing capacity, it means that everything's a lot slower going out the door," she said.

"Everything's slower going through that cycle of production... which means wholesale customers are having delayed outputs, which then affects their business."

She said the expenses of sending staff home early and buying air con units "really do build up" for her "relatively small" business, which has five employees.

The heatwaves have affected people working in all kinds of industries, from tree surgeons to insulation specialists.

Kate Darrell, general manager of Braywick Plant Nurseries in Maidenhead, said they were "just about" coping with the heat, with glass houses reaching 40-50C.

"It's a case of looking after the plants and looking after the staff as well," she said.

There's no law in the UK that says a given temperature is too hot or too cold to work.

Multiple weather records at the University of Reading could be broken this month as July comes to an end.

Dr Stephen Burt said July would "almost certainly become the sunniest on record".