Inside the cold store where it's -18C in a heatwave

It's sweltering outside, but I'm wearing a woolly hat, gloves and thermal suit, as I'm about to head inside one of the UK's biggest cold storage facilities.

Temperatures at Magnavale, near Grantham, drop as low as -18C (0F), making it arguably one of the coolest places to be during a heatwave.

The chilly air hits me the moment I enter. A slick-looking production line runs inside, with vehicles whizzing about and lots of people wearing high-vis clothing.

"I personally think it's a great place to work when it's really hot outside," says site manager John Edgoose, who has worked here for 26 years.

Magnavale supplies frozen food to major supermarkets. As we take a tour, it feels like stepping inside my kitchen freezer.

"That's exactly what it is â a giant version," Edgoose, 60, says.

He describes Magnavale as one of the UK's largest cold storage facilities, with capacity for 145,000 pallets.

The busy operation has to run like clockwork, as about 200 lorries will arrive to collect products every day.

"The UK survives on frozen food, it's a big industry," he explains.

The cold store is kept at -18C to comply with UK legislation.

Edgoose says the icy temperatures are especially great during a spell of hot weather and the staff have "probably got the best job at the moment".

"Come the winter, it's a little bit more challenging for them getting here in freezing temperatures [when] it's freezing in there," he adds.

We make our way out of the cold storage area and back into the blazing heat of the loading yard.

Kyle Reidy, a 34-year-old member of staff, follows us out, still wearing his thermal gear under the sweltering sun.

He has worked here for 18 years and says he has acclimatised to the temperature.

"I really like the cold. I can't go on any nice holidays anywhere too warm because you just don't enjoy it," he says with a laugh.

The facility employs about 160 people and Reidy says he sometimes misses the brisk temperatures when he returns home.

"Even after a 12-hour shift, sometimes you think I'd rather still be in the cold," he adds.

The UK has faced record-breaking temperatures for June, with a high of 36.4C (94F) provisionally recorded in Yeovilton, Somerset, on Thursday.

According to the Met Office, temperatures could reach 34C in Gainsborough later.

But workers at Magnavale say the toasty temperatures are quickly forgotten about in their daily sub-zero workplace.

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