THE BIG SWEATAWAY

Hottest town deserted as temperatures soar to highest ever on Sardinia

- LYDIA VELJANOVSKI

THE sweltering streets are silent, the shops shut, the café terrace tables empty and the playground deserted.

As temperatures soar over 45C, residents of the town of Decimomannu stay indoors as the Italian island of Sardinia records its hottest day ever.

The only people outside for any length of time yesterday are workmen tarmacking the road in the glaring sunshine.

The top recorded temperature hit 45.2C (113.4F) smashing the island's previous record of 42.4C. But in the sun at 4pm I record highs of 48C.

It comes as our schools break up and families fly off for sunshine holidays with more sunshine than they hoped for.

Mauro Puddu, 34, a psychologist who lives in Decimomannu, ventures out to go to the gym and has a diagnosis for those like him braving this heat: "crazy". He adds: "The gym closes at six so I have to go now. Afterwards I will go home and thankfully I have an aircon."

Gardener Rafaelle Carboni, 43, is taking refuge in a café which has the aircon on full blast after he and his colleagues found it impossible to work.

He says: "We worked until 2pm but we could not stay out given the high temperatures."

Although he is very used to Sardinia's baking heat, he is shocked by the strength of the sun yesterday. "It is extraordinary, and it is too much," he says. "This is not at all normal. It just isn't possible to be outside in the open.

"We're going to wait for the temperature to drop so we can finish the final hours of work before I can go back home where it is cool." While he and millions of others across Europe were heeding advice to stay indoors in the hottest hours between noon and 6pm, down by the coast it was a totally different story.