SHOPPERS have complained of sweltering heat after the air conditioning system broke in a major city clothes store in the middle of a heatwave.

Customers contacted the Argus to raise concerns about staff at Primark on Western Road having to work in unbearable conditions.

When this newspaper visited the store with a thermometer yesterday, we recorded a temperature of 33C on the middle floor, near the jewellery section.

Customers said it was “only a matter of time before someone collapses” at the busy chain store.

Sandy Peacock, 68, of Norway Street, said: “The air conditioning hasn’t been working for at least two weeks that I am aware of and the fans that are being used are inadequate.”

Ms Peacock said the situation was “absolutely diabolical”.

She she visited the store on Monday and said the temperatures on the first and second floors were “unbearable”.

Outside temperatures in Brighton today reached a maximum of 26C, according to the Met Office.

On the second floor, people huddled around portable fans.

Staff said that people had been called in to fix the air conditioning and they hope the problem will be resolved soon.

Carol, 65, a customer from Hove, said: “The staff are really struggling — the girl who just served me said it’s unbearable.”

Another shopper who called the Argus said it was too hot to keep a dog in the store, and that she had promised staff she would do all she could to highlight the problem.

Research by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, one of Britain’s largest trade unions, shows the comfort zone for indoor workplace temperatures is between 16C and 24C.

While government guidelines say temperatures at work should not fall below16C, there is no upper limit.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) have campaigned for a legal maximum of 30C and said that employers should think about cooling measures when the workplace temperature hits 24C.

Usdaw supports TUC’s campaign and says temperatures over 24C can cause dizziness, nausea and fainting, and even heatstroke.

Primark said it was "aware of a temperature issue" due to a fault in the air conditioning system and apologised for any discomfort.

A spokesman said: "Replacement components have arrived at the site and are being installed by our engineers.”