Underwater village hidden beneath a Welsh reservoir is revealed due to weeks of dry weather

A lake in central Wales has become so dried up that a secret underwater village has been revealed from beneath its depths. 

Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, on the edge of Snowdonia National Park, is usually 90 per cent full at this time of year but is nearly empty due to the recent heatwave. 

As a result, old buildings from the village of Llanwddyn have been exposed for the first time since the drought of 1976. 

Astonishing pictures from the Shropshire Star show the full detail of the hidden village, from an old bridge to stone walls and abandoned houses. 

The photographs clearly show the foundations of the old buildings and the remnants of the village's rich history. 

Villagers were forced to leave Llanwddyn in the late 1880s so the reservoir could be built to supply Liverpool with water.

Lake Vyrnwy and its trademark dam were built and the village's homes and old church were destroyed and sank under the water.  

But the village refuses to be forgotten and re-emerges in times of drought and recurrent hot weather. 

The past few years have seen its water levels drop as the temperature creeps up.

The lake is usually 87 per cent full at this time of year. Last year it saw this drop to 77 per cent and it has fallen to just over 60 per cent full this week. 

On July 18 Wales recorded its hottest day ever.

The Met Office confirmed Gogerddan near Aberystwyth had reached 35.3C (95.5F), exceeding the previous all-time high of 35.2C (95.4F) at Hawarden Bridge in Flintshire on August 2, 1990.