Fewer people were on the move in Copeland as they took precautions during the peak of the recent heatwave, new figures show.

On the hottest day, people in Copeland seemingly took their own precautions, with footfall on public transport across the area down compared to the week before.

Figures from Google, which uses location data from phones and other personal devices to track trends in people's movement in different areas of their daily lives, show activity on public transport on Tuesday July 19 was 11.8% below the week before.

On Monday July 18, the other day Met Office warnings were issued for, footfall was also 20.4% down on the previous week.

Some businesses in Copeland were able to continue trading as normal however and were able to take some positive effects from the situation. 

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Gerard Richardson, of Richardson of Whitehaven, said: "We did manage to benefit from the heatwave this time around, it doesn't always work that way. 

"As many people were spending time at home having barbecues or other things we were able to trade quite well. 

"We also noticed a couple of sales on the web which had been quiet for a while, because people were at home, they could spend more time browsing the web. 

"There are obviously a lot of negatives that came with the heatwave as it was blamed directly on climate change, and this can't be argued with. 

"But it can be nice to have the hot weather so it's just about control and making the most of it whilst it's here and staying safe."

Mike Childs of climate charity Friends of the Earth said: "The Government must do far more to future-proof our homes, communities and infrastructure – as well as cutting the emissions that are causing this crisis."

A spokesperson for the UK Government said it is "taking robust action to prepare for the challenges of climate change."

They added: "We are working to ensure our homes are fit for the future and have already committed to considering overheating and adaption when developing our future policies to future-proof our housing stock."