London Eye breaks down leaving customers stranded on hottest day of the year

The London Eye has broken down on the hottest day of the year, leaving visitors stranded inside its glass pods in the sweltering heat.

The tourist attraction ground to a halt as temperatures reached 28C in the capital on Thursday, with the Met Office confirming it as the warmest start to May on record.

Footage circulating online shows an announcement being made to people as they queued along the South Bank and being told that engineers are in attendance.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the London Eye said: “Earlier today, the London Eye temporarily paused to investigate a minor technical issue.

“Our team were able to quickly resolve the issue, resulting in a short 10 minute delay to boarding, after which we resumed operating as usual. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Known as one of London’s most popular attractions, it resumed operations shortly before 4pm.

It had previously hit headlines after breaking down in 2016, with visitors frozen in pods 443ft above ground level for over three hours.

With temperatures continuing to soar, warnings have been made of wildfires and the “hidden dangers” of open water swimming.

Kew Gardens, in south-west London, registered 28C on Thursday, the Met Office said, taking it past the previous May 1 record high temperature of 27.4C at Lossiemouth in Moray in 1990.

Temperatures are “still climbing”, the agency added, with Thursday also the warmest day of the year beating the previous high of 26.7C reached in Wisley, Surrey, on Wednesday.