Brighton basked in the hottest day of the year yesterday with 32C highs drawing almost half a million sun-worshippers to the coast.

Beaches were packed as Sussex resorts became hotter than Hawaii.

Seafront officers in Brighton reported their biggest weekend of the summer with about 200,000 visitors heading for the beach on Saturday and Sunday.

The Stella Screen film showings of Charlie's Angels and Gladiator attracted another 35,000 film fans to the front on Friday and Saturday night.

The Palace Pier alone welcomed 70,000 visitors in search of ice-cream and cool sea breezes.

The heatwave brought havoc for the coastguard and police, who spent much of the weekend hunting for lost children or rescuing swimmers.

One couple in Worthing were spotted cooling off by wind-surfing naked. In Hastings free sun cream was dished out by lifeguards. In Eastbourne the sea water hit 20C.

Tempers frayed in the heat and there were reports of several fights in Brighton.

Weather experts were predicting that the heatwave would last through the week, although temperatures are expected to drop slightly to 28C (82F) tomorrow.

Brighton and Hove City Council seafront co-ordinator Marcus Hayakawa said: "The beach was absolutely chock-a-block yesterday. It has certainly been the busiest weekend of the year."

Police also warned motorists to watch their speed following reports the intense heat was melting road surfaces.

More than 257,000 holidaymakers passed through the gates at Gatwick Airport, most bound for the Balearic Islands, the Canaries, Spain and Portugal.

Officials said Palma, Malaga, Faro, Alicante and Ibiza were the most popular destinations for travellers this weekend.

Many faced the galling prospect of touching down at resorts where temperatures were lower than those at home.

The heatwave brought relief to rural and coastal businesses still recovering from the effects of foot-and-mouth earlier in the year.