People are freezing hot water bottles to help them sleep in the heatwave - but is it safe?

After a lot of rain with the occasional sunny spell, the hot weather is now hitting hard. As much as we hate to complain, we must say that we're finding it very difficult to keep cool. Particularly come night time.

People have been coming up with all kinds of techniques - from a bowl of ice positioned in front of one of the best fans on the market to freezing the bedsheets -head to our guide on how to sleep better for extra tips and tricks. One popular method is the frozen hot water bottle hack. It's a genius idea to help us battle the heat, but could the expansion caused when freezing cause a safety hazard in the winter?

Jasmine Silk, a silk bed linen and accessories retailer says that putting your hot water bottle in the freezer can be extremely dangerous, especially if filled with boiling water. Freezing it 'can cause damage to the rubber material, resulting in possible leakages when you next use it,' the retailer says.

'It is, however, perfectly safe to fill your hot water bottle with cold water. It's a great way to cool down in a heatwave,' Jasmine Silk adds. 'Just make sure you don't fill the bottle more than halfway (and the same goes for hot water) to prevent it bursting.'

A bit like you might pop a can of beer in the freezer for twenty minutes to cool it down, we think you could safely put it in the freezer for short periods. Letting a hot water bottle become a frozen rock is definitely more likely to cause problems...

Rebecca Challinor, Product Specialist at retailer Terrys recommends we proceed with caution. 'Whilst freezing your hot water bottle can be an effective way to have a better night’s sleep in hot weather, it’s advisable once you’ve done this to no longer use the same water bottle during the winter.'

She says the last thing you want is to come back to using your hot water bottle in the winter months and have boiling water leaking. So Rebecca suggests having one for hot weather and a separate one for cold, just in case. If you're too hot to sleep at night, find out ways to cool down a bedroom with our guide.

Cover your cool water bottle in a towel and be sure to use other hacks during the heatwave. We can vouch for eating plenty of watermelon, carrying a portable fan like this cute like this John Lewis handheld fan around, and sitting with your feet in cool water.

Would you try the frozen hot water bottle hack?