Tour operators are slashing prices on short-haul holidays to Europe because the late arrival of Britain’s summer appears to have convinced families it’s safe to take a chance on ‘staycation’ holidays instead.

According to Steve Endacott, chief executive of the On Holiday group, the sudden plunge in bookings since the hot weather began early in July is the steepest since the Icelandic volcano eruption of 2010.

The sudden heatwave has hit some operators harder than others: some of the best deals currently available are from firms like lowcostholidays.com, Expedia and Thomas Cook.

“Best value destinations in terms of the overall holiday price at the moment are Greece, Turkey and – perhaps, more surprisingly – the Canaries,” says Tim Buckman, managing director of lowcostholidays.com.

“Currently you might find a Manchester – Lanzarote return flight from around £265, with seven nights’ self-catering in a studio from £99, making a total cost of £364. Flights alone to these destinations were selling for £450-£500 per seat at this time last year, so now truly is a great time to book late deals.”

In Turkey, where the tourism sector has been hit by scenes of rioting in Istanbul, some operators have slashed prices by up to 50 per cent.

As one example, Low Cost Holidays currently offers seven nights’ B&B at the four-star Secret Hotel, Marmaris, Turkey from £355, ex-Gatwick August 16.

The Greek islands have some great deals, too – many for packages beginning in a few days time.

Olympic Holidays has seven nights’ self-catering at an apartment near a sandy beach in the resort of Pefkos, near Faliraki, starting at £365, including return flights and local transfers ex-Gatwick on August 10.

Be warned, though, just as the balmy weather might not last much longer, the same goes for these holiday deals.

Bob Atkinson, travel expert at Travelsupermarket.com, points out: “As soon as it starts raining again, demand for holidays abroad will rocket and prices will spiral!”