Five-year-old Jenny Proudlove helps Dorah, a pregnant pot-bellied pig keep cool during the heatwave.

And cheeky Dorah has even been climbing into Jenny's paddling pool down on the family's farm off St Helens Road, Bolton.

Jenny's dad David said: "We thought she might take a drink out of it, but not get in it.

"We went away on holiday and left a neighbour looking after the animals. When we got back, we were told that Dorah had been found asleep in the middle of the pool."

Dorah, and her mate Jake expect to be the proud parents of a litter of piglets in around four weeks.

Meanwhile, weathermen warned that temperatures were going to soar again this weekend with the mercury hitting 32C tomorrow and 30C on Sunday.

Barbecues will be sizzling throughout Bolton and supermarkets are selling record amounts of charcoal and BBQ food.

David Gaffin, manager at Asda in Astley Bridge, said: "Sales are off the scale. It has been horrendously busy but fantastic. We are in record figures. Lots of barbecues, salads and ice cream are flying off the shelves. We have not sold out but are having to stock up very quickly.

"We are also really busy about 11pm when people are choosing to do their shopping when it's a bit cooler at night."

And the fun is not expected to stop there. The sweltering conditions will run into the middle of next week with the addition of the odd thunderstorm.