A British tourist has died in Italy after reportedly falling ill while hiking up Mouth Vesuvius.

The man, named as Mark John Irwin by Italian media, was based in the US and had been on holiday in the Mediterranean country with his wife and two children.

According to Italian press, the 56-year-old become ill near the top of the volcano and suffered a heart attack.

Despite best efforts by rescuers who spent 40 minutes trying to resuscitate him with a defibrillator, Irwin died at the scene.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Rome said that officials were supporting the family of a British national who died in Italy.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Paolo Cappelli president of an association of mountain guides who work on the volcano, said: “He was right up at the summit when he collapsed.

"His wife told us that he had had an operation on his heart two or three months ago. We think he may have had a heart attack.

"It's very sad. It is pretty rare for this to happen on Vesuvius.

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"We have one death every one or two years which is not much considering the fact that around 3,000 people climb to the top of the volcano each day."

Temperatures have soared in Italy in recent days, reaching highs of 40C.

High temperatures have sparked chaos across other parts of southern Europe as well, with tourists either dying or going missing in the intense heat.

Greek police are still looking for two French women who went missing on the island of Sikinos and an American retired policeman on the island of Amorgos.

Last week, a 55-year-old American was found dead on the island of Mathraki, while a Dutch tourist died on the island of Samos died earlier this month.

This comes following the death of Michael Mosley on the island of Symi, after he set off on a hike alone while temperatures surged into the mid 30s.

Meanwhile the search for Jay Slater on the Spanish island of Tenerife has entered its ninth day, after the teenager went missing last Monday.

Over 1,000 people have also lost their lives in Saudi Arabia, as high temperatures claimed the lives of 1,300 people during the Hajj pilgrimage as the mercury rose to 49C.