As temperatures soar across the UK, many of us will be looking for ways to keep our homes cool in the sweltering heat.

Channel 4’s Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud has revealed his top tip for keeping your house at a bearable temperature this summer.

The presenter played down the need for air conditioning units in your home, instead recommending you grab a mop instead.

The property expert explained the technique, used by homeowners in Italian hilltop villages to keep their houses cool in the heat of summer.

Wiltshire Times: How you can keep your house cool as temperatures soarHow you can keep your house cool as temperatures soar (Image: Getty/SolStock)

Kevin told Radio Times: “The water evaporates; to do so it draws energy from its immediate environment.

“So, sun heats water, water evaporates off, stone becomes cool. Air passing over stone into house becomes cool.

“Mop your floors in the morning but don’t mop the water off, just leave it there to evaporate.

“You can put your hand in your pocket and pay £3,000 or you can let nature help.”

The mercury hit 32C at Kew Gardens in south-west London on Sunday and much of the UK was hotter than Monaco and the French riviera where temperatures languished in the low 20s.

However, temperatures fell just short of this year’s record high of 32.2C which was reached on Saturday.