We’re in for a Bank Holiday treat ... 20C!

IF you packed a cardigan for a day out yesterday, you might be able to leave it behind today.

Temperatures are forecast to peak at a rather warm 20C (68F), right on cue for Bank Holiday Monday.

Yesterday glorious sunshine sent the average UK temperature creeping up from a cool 12C ( 4F) earlier in the week to 18C (64F) in many parts of the country, including Aberdeen, while Bristol enjoyed highs of 16C (61F).

Families flocked to the coast in Brighton and Dorset, while roads were gridlocked in Llandudno, North Wales, as day trippers made their way home from the seaside resort.

Figures from Asda suggested the sunshine inspired a wave of impromptu barbecues, with sales of

‘Best sunshine in

South East’

sausages and equipment expected to triple those of April.

The fine weather was not evenly spread, however, according to a forecaster from the Met Office.

‘Large swathes of England, Wales and southern parts of Scotland had good spells of sunshine but further north and west there was thicker cloud producing outbreaks of rain,’ he said. ‘Today there is likely to be an east/west split with the best sunshine in the south-eastern parts of England from London up to Lincoln, and temperatures will reach 20 or 21C (68-70F).’

Outbreaks of rain from the west to the east are expected to arrive in the evening and could carry on into Tuesday.