Richmond Park and Bushy Park will see the closure of playgrounds and gardens on Saturday following a yellow weather warning from the Met Office.

The Royal Parks said this includes the Petersham Playground, Isabella Plantation and Pembroke Lodge Gardens, as well as the Prince Charles Spinney, Two Storm Wood, Sidmouth Driftway and Platinum Jubilee Woodland.

The Met Office warned people to expect delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport as well as potential power cuts, large waves and damage to trees.

The closures at Bushy Park include the Bushy Park Playground, The Woodland Gardens (Pheasantry and Water House Plantation) and the Water Gardens.

Sweltering temperatures in Europe are directing low-pressure systems towards the UK and will lead to 55mph gusts and heavy rain this weekend.

The Met Office warned people to expect delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport as well as potential power cuts, large waves and damage to trees.

Forecasters believe the Cerberus heatwave, named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster from Dante's Inferno, which has taken hold across holiday hotspots in the Mediterranean, could be behind the wet and windy weather.

Rebekah Sherwin, an expert meteorologist from the Met Office's global forecasting team, said: "The southern shift of the jet stream that has pushed the high pressure southwards across this region has also led to low-pressure systems being directed into the UK, bringing more unsettled and cooler weather here than we experienced in June when the jet stream was at a more northerly latitude."

As part of the current low-pressure system over the UK, a "band of persistent rain" and strong gusts will move across large swathes of the country from Friday.