Many enjoy warmest day this year

Much of the south, south east and west of England woke up to bright blue skies, tempting many to take a Sunday stroll through the park.

Plunging icy conditions witnessed with monotony since December were replaced by milder temperatures in double figures, with Pershore in Worcestershire recording the warmest location at 14C (57F). London recorded a maximum temperature of 13C (55F) with 5.8 hours of sunshine.

The coldest location was Lerwick on the Shetland Islands with a temperature of 3C (37F).

Paul Knightley, a forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "If we look across the country as a whole and the number of places in double figures from Inverness to Plymouth, it's been the warmest day of the year so far.

"However, it's not been pleasant everywhere. From east Kent, through East Anglia up through Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, south east Scotland the Highlands and north west Scotland there have been some heavy showers. Further south and in the south west there has been a good burst of sunshine."

The lowest temperature recorded last night was -3C (27F) in Yeovilton, Somerset, but it was also the sunniest place in the UK today with 10.3 hours of sunshine following clear skies.

Much of Britain can expect the warmer temperatures to continue into the working week with the long awaited return of south westerly winds, but towards the end of the week the wind and rain is expected to return.

He added: "There's a pretty good week to come temperature wise. The plants seem to think spring has sprung. The daffodils are beginning to come up and with the warmth around more flowers will be seen. We are coming out of the wintry weather we've experienced for the last three months.

"It is expected to start off a reasonably mild week but we may see more wind and rain arriving across the country from Wednesday, which is more likely in the north and west."