Coastguard and lifeboat volunteers in Norfolk are gearing up for an “incredibly busy” weekend with hot weather expected from today.

Temperatures in Norfolk and Suffolk are set to soar on Friday, with temperatures possibly exceeding 30 °C during the day – highs of 35 °C could be reached in the east of England.

The weekend is set to be slightly cooler, though still hot with highs of 27 °C forecast on Saturday.

Jerry Woodley, station officer at Sheringham Coastguard, said they had been very busy over the last two weeks, and are expecting more of the same over the coming days.

“We had six incidents in two days last week, and it’s been really busy all the time. We’ve had everything from people collapsing on the beach, people needing medical attention and some climbing cliffs – we’ve even had someone who jumped off Cromer Pier.

“We’re expecting a busy weekend for sure.”

Despite the warm weather, the Met Office have not deemed it a heatwave as the threshold for such a declaration requires temperatures in the east of England to reach at least 30 °C on at least two consecutive days and 15 °C on the intervening night.

While many are expected to head out to coasts and beauty spots to enjoy the warm weather, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has warned beach-goers to be safe and to not use inflatables in the sea.

“They might look like fun and pose well for Instagram, but they pose a real danger at the beach as currents and offshore winds can sweep you out to sea in the blink of an eye,” they said.

“Don’t take risks at the coast but if the worst were to happen, knowing what to do in an emergency really matters – call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”

Mr Woodley added: “There is due to be an offshore breeze which doesn’t help matters, as anyone with an inflatable will be blown out to see, so we’re expecting a few calls about that.”

Meanwhile, the Met Office has warned people to take precautions due to high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Between Friday and Sunday, the UV Index is mostly predicting exposure levels of 6 and 7 – deemed high risk by the index – though some parts of Waveney and Suffolk could reach 8 on Friday afternoon, which is classed as very high risk and is generally the highest level seen in the UK.

Medium levels of pollen are expected across the weekend with weed pollen and fungal spores rising to a high risk during good weather, though grass pollen is in decline.