The scorching South Tyneside summer of 1976 when sun threatened to stop play and you queued for water

We’ve all heard of rain stopped play or even a match abandoned because of snow.

But we want to know if you were around when sun stopped play in South Tyneside. It happened 50 years ago this year and it was not just the borough where sport suffered in the baking heat.

The summer of 1976 saw temperatures soar above 90 degrees fahrenheit. It was the hottest period in 350 years and people were literally dropping like flies.

The subsequent drought resulted in Parliament passing an emergency Drought Act with widespread water rationing and public standpipes in some affected areas.

Matters came to a head in South Tyneside when a threat was made to blow the whistle on amateur football matches.

Traditional grounds at Bents Park in South Shields were so hard they were unplayable, and a desperate search was launched to find alternative venues.

Coun Hugh Downey, chairman of South Tyneside Cultural and Leisure Activities Committee, warned that without rain soon some pitches might have to be abandoned, adding: “Unless we get some water on pitches, football will be impossible. In other parts of the borough, football pitches have been re-sown with grass, but because it is so dry the seeds have not germinated.”

It was not just football which was affected. The incredible temperatures saw swarms of ladybirds appear all over Britain.

Roads melted in the heat and some areas of the UK had no rain for more than 45 days.

Thankfully, both September and October proved wet months and normal service was resumed, on and off the pitch.

Tell us what you remember about that incredible Summer and what you were doing back then.

Tell us more by emailing [email protected]