You may not approve of a website that prides itself on helping married people and others already in a relationship to have an illicit encounter with someone else, but that’s beside the point. The point is that IllicitEncounters.com says the number of members logging onto the site in the last ten, hot days has trebled compared to the norm.

IllicitEncounters.com doesn’t actively encourage people to have an affair. That would be wrong, right? Instead, it says its members, "Are all looking for a little romance outside their current relationship. Whether that’s the occasional bit of flirtatious chat, a regular coffee date, or a full-blown affair, that’s up to them." So it’s all fine, really. Just a bit of harmless fun, I’m sure.

Anyway record numbers of people are visiting the site looking for a little extra-marital ‘romance’. Spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com Rosie Freeman-Jones said, "When it’s hot outside you are more likely to feel frisky, the science behind this phenomenon is, as your body is exposed to sunlight, it produces more serotonin and melanocyte stimulating hormone known as MSH, which is linked to an increased sex drive in women, and serotonin just makes you feel happy."

When questioned female members said they were most likely to look for a extra-marital lover in the summer months as they felt more attractive, tanned and could wear more seductive clothing, men also preferred going out in the summer months and feel less inhibited and more relaxed when outside in the sunshine and the heat, according to the firm.

Statistics released by Illicit Encounters have shown that 72% of men and 68% of women feel more confident about showing off their bodies during the summer, especially after they have developed a bit of a tan. Men revealed they are more likely to be in shape during the summer months due to participating in sports or just being generally more physical during the week, women revealed that they were more likely to wear sexy underwear and shave their legs during the hotter months.

As if that isn’t proof enough, the biggest increases in the number of "risqué rendezvous", as the site puts it, were reported in the South West and East of England where temperatures have been highest.

Other recent nuggets from the IllicitEncounters.com crew include the fact that Audi drivers are the most adulterous car owners. Vorsprung Durch Technik indeed.