SWARMS of mosquitoes are to plague the UK as the hot weather provides the "perfect breeding ground" for the bugs.

Pharmacies are bracing for a surge in demand for anti-mozzie cream and spray as families prepare for the incoming insects.

Some experts are warning more dangerous species of mosquito are migrating to Britain carrying potentially deadly diseases.

It comes as sweltering temperatures of up to 37C scorched the nation with tropical nights falling no lower than 20C, adding to warmer and more humid environments to tempt over the nuisance pests.

Dr Nick Watts of the UCL Institute for Global Health said the hot weather was symptomatic of rising temperatures globally which is causing a rise in mosquitos.

He told The Sun Online: "What we have seen in Europe and more recently across England, although England has been slower, is that yes we are starting to see mosquitos starting to show up and we think it probably is endemic.

"You are starting to see them move up from hotter more tropical regions and then march across Europe."

He added that this heatwave is too short to directly cause an influx of mosquitos but the risk is more about the "slow incremental rise" of temperatures.

He said: "The heatwave is a symptom of that slow incremental rise. It is right to say that as a result of hotter temperatures we will expect to see more mosquitos coming across.

"We don't yet have enough evidence to talk about whether or not we would expect to see diseases following them – although we have seen that in Europe so it is a reasonable hypothesis."

Mosquito expert Howard Carter told the Daily Star: "I am aware of sightings on the Kent coast. They are not here in any great, great numbers yet but in my view, it is only a matter of time."

He claimed he saw mosquitoes that carry the lethal Zika rictus north of Chichester, West Sussex.

And some experts believe the Asian tiger, whose bite can pass on 23 infections, could be on its way.

Mr Carter added a lot of mosquitoes "zero in" on ears, wrists and ankles where skin is thinner and blood vessels are closer to the surface.

Spain has already been put on alert following reports a new mosquito carrying deadly disease had reached the land.

 Known as the aedes japonicus, they are originally found in Japan, Korea, China and Russia and have been linked to the spread of dengue fever, chikungunya and West Nile viruses.

The insect is thought to have arrived in Spain through trading tyres in east Asia.

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It was claimed tiger mosquitoes moved north across France, with more than half of the country under threat from the deadly insects.

This year, Spain has been hit hard by bug infestations.

The many empty swimming pools left uncleaned due to the Covid-19 pandemic became fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes, which thrive in warm, moist air.

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