Millions of Britons head overseas in search of summer sunshine

Travel agents say bookings for the Mediterranean are up at least 100 per cent on last year and popular sun spots such as Majorca and Ibiza are reported to be virtually full.

The sudden surge in bookings kicked off last month, which set a new record for rainfall in England. Before that, travel experts had been predicting this year would be the first summer when green concerns would persuade more holidaymakers to give up their foreign flights and stay in Britain.

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Agents said that with no sign of a break in the weather, the desire to see some sun now ranked above worries about the environment.

Matthew Flint, sales director at Croydon-based Direct Line Holidays, said: "Last week we were 124 per cent up on last year. Very rarely have we ever known the weather to have such a direct effect on holiday bookings but in my 41 years this is the first time I have known a summer like this."

Hotels in the Balearics said they were seeing a huge surge in late bookings. Across the island chain, hotels were 80 per cent booked last month, well up on last year, and are likely to be even busier this month.

Humphrey Carter, chief reporter at the Majorca Daily Bulletin, said: "The weather in Britain is definitely having an effect.

"There are lots of yachts around and people are making the most of their second homes.

"The impression I get is that for many of the people arriving now this is not their main summer holiday. They are just desperate to get away to boost their morale."

Gatwick Airport said it expected its busiest period of the year next weekend, with the busiest day of all due to be Sunday, when an estimated 137,000 people will pass through its terminals.

Top destinations include Palma de Majorca, Malaga in southern Spain, Dalaman in Turkey and Faro in Portugal.

Bookings are also strong for long-haul trips, with tour operator First Choice saying it had "minimal availability" on any destination for beyond the coming week.

BA reported high demand for bookings on its southern European routes.

The Association of British Travel Agents predicted that overall bookings would be up by at least seven per cent on last year.

Spokesman Sean Tipton said: "We predict that 28 million people will go abroad between mid-May and mid-September and that more than 10 million of them will go this month. It may be even more.

"April was so warm that everyone expected summer to be a scorcher and a lot of people decided not to go abroad. Now they are all rushing to book."