THE price of food could go up due to the ongoing heatwave with farmers warning the dry spell has wreaked havoc with their crops.

Charles Bennett, of the family-run Sandy Lane Farm near Tiddington, said it was way behind schedule this year with hundreds of seedlings still awaiting being planted out.

Water-starved soil has blocked attempts to plant crops such as carrots which could hit the farm's winter harvest and leave them having to buy in from elsewhere to fill its veg boxes and market stalls.

Mr Bennett said: "They should have been out a month ago but are still sitting there in containers.

"It's certainly the driest summer since 1976 and a fairly unprecedented period without rain.

"We feel like we are growing in the south of France. That's not to say it's all bad. Some crops like squashes and onions are doing incredibly well and arable farmers are saving a lot from not having to dry out their crop.

"But everyone is experiencing the same issues with certain crops.

"Ultimately I think it’s likely we’ll see the price of food go up and we will all end up paying a bit more."

The farm is now hoping for a prolonged rain shower to relieve the pressure and is considering making changes to crops in future years.

But the increasingly unpredictable weather is making the job harder with farms adopting a strategy of 'hedging their bets' and hoping something comes off.