Animals across Suffolk have been enjoying the unseasonably hot weather, but some will be pleased to hear rain is on the way.

Ipswich Star: Sheep at the Suffolk Punch Trust in Hollesley take shelter from the heatwave in the shade.Sheep at the Suffolk Punch Trust in Hollesley take shelter from the heatwave in the shade. (Image: Sarah Lucy brown)

With the hottest September day in more than a century recorded on Tuesday, pigs have been having sun cream applied, while other animals have been getting hosed down as part of an effort to keep them cool.

However, for many animals, the conditions are not ideal. Tracy Pettitt, stud manager at the Suffolk Punch Trust in Hollesley, said some of the animals were finding the warm temperatures difficult.

She said: “It doesn’t work in their favour at all sadly.

“They do get fed up when it’s too hot, even just standing there.

“If they could all gallivant down to the nearest beach and go for an ice cream and a paddle like the rest of us that would take a lot of the strain away!”

And one dog did get the chance to cool off, with English bulldog Benson enjoying an ice cream at Felixstowe beach front.

Fiona Siddall, manager of Easton Farm Park, said: “Not all the animals agree with the hot weather, a lot of them are desperate for somewhere to paddle. For animals on the farm it’s about making sure they have got enough water and shade.

“We try and bring them in to the stables during the day and out in the evenings when it’s cooler.”

At SESAW (Suffolk and Essex Small Animal Welfare) in Leavenheath, Maggie Jackaman has been turning the hoses on the pigs and dogs.

“We’ve had the hose on the pigs most days. They’ve also get a wallow so they’re OK. The field animals all get shade. All the animals have had the water checked several times.

“The pigs don’t mind it, but some of the dogs wonder what we’re doing to them.”

The hottest temperature yesterday was 31.1C in Marham, Norfolk, and today is likely to be very similar, before rain and cooler temperatures set in.

Yesterday the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rain in East Anglia.

Showers coming from the west of the country may turn very heavy and thundery in Suffolk and north Essex from early Friday, forecasters have warned – with the risk of torrential downpours.

Drivers are asked to be aware of the risk of localised flooding.

The weather service’s chief forecaster said there was a risk of 30 to 40mm in an hour in places and more than 50mm in a few hours.

“While the vast majority will have much less than this, it could cause disruption, especially if heavier bursts coincide with urban areas.”