Temperatures climbed to record levels in sweltering Britain on Sunday as the mercury hit 100.8 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving bookmakers facing a hefty payout on bets that the 100 F mark would be topped.

Registered at Gravesend, Kent, southeast England, the new record beat the previous hottest day of 98.7 F, set in Cheltenham in central England in 1990.

Londoners baked in heat that reached 100.2 F, measured at Heathrow Airport on Sunday afternoon, but forecasters said slightly cooler temperatures were on the way.

Bookmakers estimated the industry would have to pay out more than $483,000 after thousands of weather- obsessed Britons, whose conversation is often dominated by the changeable climate, put money on temperatures soaring to 100 F for the first time in Britain.

The sizzling heat drove millions to the country's frequently windswept or rain-lashed beaches to soak up the sun. Roads were jammed with motorists trying to escape the capital.

The RAC motoring organization estimated 15 million cars, a fifth above average, would hit the roads over the weekend.

Rail passengers faced longer journeys after fears of buckled tracks led to speed limits being imposed across the country.

However, the heat brought violent thunderstorms to parts of northern and central England.

Lightning struck a leisure center in the second city of Birmingham, injuring 14 people.

In London, the world's highest observation wheel, the London Eye, reopened in the evening after closing because the glass pods which lift visitors above the River Thames were too hot.

Monkeys and sloth bears at London Zoo enjoyed fruity ice lollies, while penguins pecked at fish-flavored ices.

Otters cooled off in a van-load of snow transferred from an indoor ski slope to the National Sea Life Center in Birmingham.

Ice cream sales rocketed and the industry's trade body predicted a record year. "The heat is dry and ice cream is flying out of the door," the Ice Cream Alliance's chief executive Lisa Greene told the Guardian newspaper.

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