Images of how Coventry tried staying cool in the 1976 heatwave – Coventry Live

With record-breaking temperatures hitting the country this week, here in Coventry we've seen schools closing, restaurants shutting and even roads melting amid alerts over safety. Yet for some residents, actions to tackle the unprecedented heat are a sign of today's namby pamby snowflake culture.

You just need to wheel back a few years to get a different perspective - even if it is rose-tinted. For many older Coventrians, the tarmac in their day was made of tougher stuff, and schools closed for nothing, not even the safety of youngsters and the current heatwave is a doddle in comparison to the long hot summer of 1976.

Granted, the heatwave of that summer wasn't a couple of days, but almost a solid two months of blistering sunshine. But how did the city stay cool in the face of such heat back then?

READ MORE: Hour by hour forecast on hottest day of the year in Coventry

We've had a look back at the archives to see photos from that summer that show ways residents tried staying cool. This included teens frolicking in well-known fountains, including the popular one outside the Belgrade Theatre.

There was also an attempt to summon some much need rain over in Rugby with what would now be considered a slightly politically incorrect Indian Rain Dance, which included a man dressed in Native American gear. Other images show children splashing in paddling pools.

July of that year saw the Coventry Evening Telegraph reporting on hosepipe bans due to "the demand for water soaring to unprecedented levels". But those naysayers who say schools carried on as normal back in their day are actually wrong.

According to our archives, some city schools switched to 'continental class-hours in an attempt to beat the heatwave'. Sam Bentley, head of Burton Green Primary in the city, said the move "worked marvellously".

Do you remember the summer of 1976? How did you stay cool at the time? Let us know in the comments.

READ NEXT:

More here:
Images of how Coventry tried staying cool in the 1976 heatwave - Coventry Live