Heatwave hurdles for Salford Comedian Jason Manford on way to gig

Salford comedian and presenter Jason Manford has shared hilarious details of a nightmare journey to a gig in the heatwave.

Manford, 41, who has featured on various comedy shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats, had planned to take a train from Stockport to the seaside town of Margate but instead found himself caught up in the travel chaos caused by the record-breaking heatwave.

Manford explained he was looking forward to a "little dip in the sea and a lovely gig," but had instead had "quite the journey!" before detailing all the hurdles he faced, which read like a comedy script.

It began when he said, "got the 11.44 from Stockport to London due to arrive in Margate at 16.38.

"Train aircon stopped working. Stopped at Rugby to fix it. A tree fell on the track ahead-30m delay. Said tree caught fire. 1 hour delay. Train cancelled.

"Rugby station, couldn't get a cab, couldn't hire a car!"

So the comedian said he "arranged with 5 fellow passengers to share a cab to London for £70 each".

But, "by the time we got to car it was £90 each, but a lady started crying because she was going to miss her flights home, so I gave her my space in the taxi."

Manford then managed to get another taxi, to drive the 2 hour 45 minute journey to Margate, but added the driver "wouldn't put the aircon on (even though the trip was costing him a whopping £210!)".

The comedian said, the driver insisted "we can either get to Margate or have the aircon". He said the "car doesn't have power for both!"

He shared a video of him finally getting to his gig at 7.25 with just five minutes to spare for the show to start on time, nine hours after he set off.

The UK experienced its hottest day on record on Tuesday, with the extreme temperatures leading to travel disruption across the country.Manford shared a series of photographs on each stage of his journey, to show he was not making it up.

Fans of the comedian commented on the post with support and wished him well on the final leg of his journey.

Manford, who has also starred in a variety of West End productions, is currently on his Like Me UK and Europe live stand up tour, which runs until March next year.