Thames Valley Police road’s policing department carried out a joint road safety operation with DVSA yesterday, Thursday, April 30.

The operation saw 48 drivers stopped and 39 driving offences identified, including two vehicles seized.

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One driver was arrested on suspicion of drug driving.

Police said within the 39 offences, 11 vehicles were found to be overweight, one vehicle was being driven in a dangerous condition, and vehicles were found to have defective lights, brakes and tyres and six were found driving with insecure loads.

Two vehicles were seized and eight issued prohibition orders, cutting short their journeys (Image: Thames Valley Police)

In addition, one driver had no vehicle tax, two had no insurance, one was found on their phone while driving and one was in breach of their operator licence.

A total of 11 vehicles were caught committing offences relating to tachographs, which are a mandatory tracker installed on trucks and buses to record driving time, speed, distance, and rest periods to ensure compliance with legal working hours and safety regulations.

Eight were found to have driving hours offences and three were found without a tachograph installed.

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A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “In total, eight prohibitions were issued, preventing unsafe vehicles from continuing their journey.

“Operations like this are vital to improving road safety and reducing serious collisions.

“Please ensure your vehicle is roadworthy and you comply with all driving legislation.”

According to the Met Office, temperatures in London and East Anglia could climb to around 27C at the end of the working week, making Friday the hottest day of the year so far.

It will be hotter than Honolulu, where highs of about 26C are expected.

However, thick cloud along the central spine of the UK – from parts of Scotland down through the Pennines and into the Midlands – could bring some heavy rain and thunder on Friday, meaning not everyone will see warm, sunny conditions.

After a sunny mix the weather for the weekend looks a little different, will you get a shower? Most will but it won’t rain all weekend.

Bringing you this long weekend’s weather forecast is Alex Deakin. pic.twitter.com/l9TBwndiod

— Met Office (@metoffice) April 30, 2026

“We’ve got some very warm, humid air coming up from the south,” Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge told the Press Association.

“That means we will see some very warm weather, particularly in the east and the South East, because there we’ll see the best of the sunshine.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean everybody’s going to get a warm, dry, beautiful day.”

“Certainly the odd rumble of thunder is possible there, particularly over the Midlands,” Mr Partridge said.

Friday’s highs in London and the South East will be around 10C above average for the time of year, which is 15 to 17C, the Met Office said.

Meanwhile, Cardiff could be warmer than Athens, where forecasters are predicting a high of 14C on Friday, which is 5C cooler than the estimated top temperatures in the Welsh capital.

The warm weather still falls short of the record high in April of 29.4C, which was recorded in Camden Square, central London, in 1949, Met Office records show.

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What will the weather be like over the weekend?

Sadly, the weekend will be “a different story” though, with changeable conditions forecast across the UK.

“The weekend is a bit of a different story, really,” said Mr Partridge.

“There will be some bright spells in there as well on Saturday, but there will also be showers, particularly across northern and western parts of the UK.”

Rain is forecast across the country on Sunday and temperatures will continue to cool towards averages for April.

What are you doing this weekend? Let us know in the comments

Shakespeare Drive in Bicester is set to be shut for the next week, according to a local councillor to repair a burst water main.

Councillor Donna Ford said on social media: “Road closure required to repair urgent mains burst by Thames Water.

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Thames Water van (Image: Newsquest)

“We are waiting for the submission of the diversion route and will process asap through the normal channels once received.”

The closure began today at April 30 and has been confirmed on the causeway.one.network website.

Specifically the incident is by Dryden Avenue and Browning Drive, and near to King’s Meadow Primary School, and is set to end on May 7.