Health bosses are appealing to holiday-makers to be mindful of the heat as they soak up the sun in Norfolk's beauty spots.

As temperatures look set to soar again, health leaders have expressed fears that the heat will pile additional strain on the region's already beleaguered hospitals.

They fear is that holiday-makers flocking to the region may be particularly prone to getting into trouble due to having less local knowledge of where dangers lie.

Frankie Swords, medical director for the NHS in Norfolk and Waveney, said: "We want people to enjoy their holidays here, but safely.

"The best thing for people to do is stay in touch with local news and advice and make sure you know the local areas."

Meanwhile, Dr Swords said the region's hospitals continue to be on high alert, with summer having continued to put strain on the region's health system.

She said: "The past month in particular has been incredibly hard for our hospitals, with emergency departments in particular being immensely busy.

"It is very clear for anybody to see that things are a lot harder than we would have expected it to be this time of year - it has been much more like a January or a February in terms of demand.

"There are generally three ways people end up in hospital due to the heat - the first is things like heatstroke and delirium.

"Then there are long-term conditions being worsened - we see more strokes and more cardiac arrests in the heat.

"And the third main reason is accidents which are almost always avoidable by being sensible and using common sense."

She said people can help ease this issue during the hot weather in a variety of ways.

These include:

  • Drinking small amounts of water or fluids, frequently
  • Looking out for elderly people and others
  • Avoiding going out in intense sunshine unless absolutely necessary
  • Wearing hats, sunglasses, loose-fitting clothing and sunscreen when outdoors
  • Only attending A&E if you have difficulty breathing, chest pains or have suffered a serious injury - dialling 111 in the first instance

Dr Swords said that during the extreme heat of July, people had largely heeded warnings which meant there was not a significant increase in heat related-incidents across those two days.

She said: "People were very good last time and listened to our advice, so we owe them a thank you for that."