The hottest day ever in Britain is set to hit London and Kent next week.

The current record temperature of 37.4 °C was recorded in Heathrow.

Experts have said the temperature may go even higher next week, with possible temperatures of 100 fahrenheit.

With sunny weather set to continue into next week, it has been claimed there is a worrying lack of understanding as to the protection sunscreen provides.

The temperature over the weekend in south east London and north Kent is set to reach highs to 25 °C, with dry, sunny and very hot weather on Monday and Tuesday as well.

This comes as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said clearer labelling is needed on sunscreens.

According to a YouGov survey, a quarter of people do not know what the rating on their sun protection stands for, and the majority do not know the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) rating protects them from only some of the sun's harmful rays.

Fewer than half of 2,057 adults who took part in the poll said they always or often use sun protection.

Both UVA and UVB rays from the sun can cause skin damage and skin cancer.

The SPF rating on the product label refers only to the protection level against UVB rays, while a separate star rating usually indicates the protection factor against UVA rays.

15 per cent of adults with children in their household admitted that they never checked the UVA rating.

Differences in labels are causing confusion among buyers, chief scientist for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Professor Jayne Lawrence said.

Prof Lawrence said: "This survey indicates that there is a huge amount of confusion around sunscreen labelling that is a barrier to effective sun protection.

"Clearly many consumers do not realise the SPF rating applies only to the amount of protection offered against UVB rays, not UVA rays - both of which can damage the skin and cause skin cancer.

"People should not have to pick their way through complicated dual ratings information to understand how sunscreen works and the amount of protection it potentially provides.

"We think it's time for sunscreen manufacturers to provide one easy to understand rating, based on a simple description of the total amount of sun protection offered."