Gardeners told not to cut lawns on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday

Scorching hot weather is set to return in much of the UK this week, according to the Met Office - with temperatures rising from Tuesday and peaking on Thursday at a sweltering 30C. And when it's sunny, many gardeners will seize the opportunity to get out and mow the lawn before it rains again, chopping down the grass' height during the blazing sunshine.

But mowing your lawn in a heatwave is not a good idea, warn gardening experts. While the sunshine is good for gardens, long periods of high heat can actually have ramifications for our lawns. Like anything, gardens really need a mix of rain and sun to be at their best, and grass can start to struggle when conditions are too hot for too long.

Apart from the potential health risks of carrying out physical activity in the sunshine, which could risk sunstroke or heat stroke, mowing the lawn during intense sunshine is actually very bad for your lawn.

Gardening experts iCANLawn are urging gardeners to leave the mowing until the hottest weather passes.

The appropriately named Timothy Greene warns: "Mowing your lawn during a heatwave is not recommended so making sure you time your mows before the temperatures really rise is key.

"It's best to give mowing a rest until the hot weather passes.

"Making sure your mowing is kept on top of in the coming weeks will help you to keep the hands off the mower when it's too hot. However if you simply can't resist, make sure to mow on the highest setting of your lawnmower.

"Longer grass blades create a shadow that helps to keep the moisture in your soil, whilst mowing too short can stress your grass and cause it to become straw like.

"If it's really hot, you can also leave the grass clippings on the lawn. They act as mulch, helping retain moisture and returning nutrients to the soil."

It's not a good time to fertilise your lawn, either, due to the risk of 'fertiliser burn' in hot weather.

"Fertilisers often contain chemicals and need to be watered in to start them working on your lawn. In dry warm weather this may mean they require lots of watering to get them to break down and may increase the risk of fertiliser burn," Timothy explains.

"I would suggest getting your feeds in way before a heatwave is on the horizon and waiting for the temperature to cool down before going in again."

The hottest weather is set to arrive on Tuesday, July 8, when temperatures will hit 25C in London according to the Met Office, with the mercury then rising to 27C on Wednesday and peaking at a very hot 30C on Thursday. Conditions will then stay almost as hot on Saturday and Sunday, at 29C.

It's best, then to wait until the hot weather passes next week before mowing the lawn.