ON the beach, at a barbecue or simply lazing in the back garden were the places to be at the weekend as Suffolk sweltered in the summer sunshine.

ON the beach, at a barbecue or simply lazing in the back garden were the places to be at the weekend as Suffolk sweltered in the summer sunshine.

With temperatures well above average, events across the county enjoyed big crowds as people made the most of the fine weather.

There was a downside to the dry spell though with firefighters dealing with many grass, heath and field fires and officers have urged the public to be extra careful when out and about in the countryside.

Temperatures in Suffolk reached 27C - well above the August average of 21C - with clear blue skies everywhere.

Chris Bell, of Weatherquest, said: “Temperatures have been pretty much above average every single day of the summer, though we have had some cloudy days and periods of rain, and Suffolk and Norfolk have enjoyed some of the best weather.

“One of the other good things this summer is that most of the fine weather has come at the weekends.”

Over the next few days, temperatures will be around 21C to 24C but more changeable with the chance of showers - Wednesday could be breezy as the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane sweep across.

But while many were enjoying the weekend sunshine, fire crews tackled a field fire at Shottisham, two areas of gorse, each 50m square, at Parkers Lane, Martlesham Heath, a small area of grass on fire at Runnacles Way, Felixstowe, and a stretch of 80m of both sides of Livermere Road, Great Barton, with undergrowth and hedging alight.

Five crews - from Southwold, Halesworth, Wrentham, Saxmundham and Leiston - dealt with three acres of gorse alight off Blackheath Road near Wenhaston.

Suffolk Fire Service group manager Dave Pedersen said: “It's exceptionally dry and we would urge people to be extremely careful and extra vigilant when out and about enjoying the countryside.

“No-one wants to discourage people from enjoying the countryside but we all need to be a little bit more cautious. It's not barbecues which cause us the problems but discarded cigarettes and children playing with matches.”

Anyone coming across fire in the open should ring 999 immediately and not try to tackle it themselves.

n. Send in your summer pictures to Reader Pictures, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk