Watch what you had to say as sunshine and soaring temperatures see crowds flocking to Sunderland seafront

Car parks at Roker and Seaburn were at capacity as families made the most of the school summer holiday heatwave.

The Met Office forecast for today, Thursday, August 11, predicted peak temperatures of 22C across Wearside – the equivalent of 71.6F – and with little breeze along the coast, sunseekers were making the most of the opportunity.

Lisa Cook and three-year-old nephew Rory had been off to the shops at Seaburn to stock up on supplies.

They had made the trip from Durham after giving up on plans to travel further afield: “We were going to go to Scarborough but we were in York yesterday, so we thought we would keep it local today,” said Lisa, 45.

The family loves Seaburn: “It is friendly, it is clean, it is just a really nice part of the coast and it is really on our doorstep,” said Lisa. “There are plenty of shops and things for the kids to do.

“And the weather is brilliant. It is absolutely gorgeous – you can’t say much more than that. We are going to stay all day.”

David Beattie was taking the chance to refuel with that seaside classic, a bumper portion of fish and chips.

"This is just a lovely part of the coast – we don’t appreciate it enough, if I am honest,” he sadi.

"You can’t beat a bit of the seaside for free. People would pay thousands for this."

David, 41, from Town End Farm, was making the most of a short break from work and looking forward to rubbing his workmate’s nose in it: “I’m loving it – I’ve got a couple of days off work and why not?” he said.

"My colleague is off as well. He’s in Tenerife and I’m going to take a picture of myself and say ‘Look, I didn’t pay a penny for this’.”

June and Jimmy Compton were coping with the heat by cooling off with an ice cream and a lolly from the busy Minchella’s stall on the promenade.

June,69, and 71-year-old Jimmy had travelled through from Jarrow to make the most of the stunning Sunderland seafront.

"We came through just for a change,” said June. “We have been through quite a few times, it’s really nice.”

Jimmy is hoping that while the weather forecasters were on the money today, they have got their longer term predictions wrong: “We’ve got the grandbaitrn coming up from Manchester next week and it’s forecast to rain,” he said.

"Hopefully it stays like this – it’s fantastic. You can’t touch this weather. You can see how good it is from the number of people on the beach.”

Sharon Beattie, 59, daughter Kelly Pemberton, 38, and four-year-old granddaughter Anais Pemberton had made the short trip from Southwick to soak up the sun.

"It is great to have this on the doorstep,” said Sharon. “You don’t need to go on holiday when the weather is like this.”

Kelly loves spending time at Seaburn: “It is just lovely here and it’s great for the kids with the sand and the water,” she said.