River Island clothes shop was in the middle of a busy evening when air conditioning in the shop failed and high temperatures along with a stuffy atmosphere began to cause problems in the packed fitting rooms. According to a shopper in River Island at the time, at least two young women fainted in the changing room as temperatures soared to 380C inside the centre.

"The girl at the changing room wouldn't let me in because she said it was nearly 400C, " she told the Sunday Tribune. "Then she said I could go in, but that they couldn't be responsible if anything happened to me."

Although management denied the incidents at first, a spokeswoman for River Island later admitted to the Sunday Tribune, that "there was a problem with air conditioning in the store". She pointed out that portable air conditioning units had been installed in the shop. The majority of shops were not affected, although some managers did mention that the hot weather was causing a stifling shopping experience.