UK weather: Sun-starved Brits hit the beach for hottest day of the year on Bank Holiday as temperatures hit 25.1C

SUN-STARVED Brits have hit the beach today on the hottest day of the year. 

People across the country were pictured out and about enjoying the Bank Holiday - as the mercury soared to 25.1C this afternoon. 

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Bank Holiday Monday is the warmest day of the year so far after 25.1C was recorded in Kinlochewe, Scotland, according to the Met Office.

This has surpassed the previous high for 2021, which was set on March 30 at Kew Gardens in West London when the temperature hit 24.5C.

It comes after two days of glorious weather over the long weekend, sending Brits flocking to parks and beaches as well as pubs and restaurants now that Covid-19 restrictions have mostly been lifted.

Lyme Regis in Dorset was packed with people enjoying the scorching temperatures this morning, while the Promenade in Brighton was heaving with sunbathers.   

Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist from the Met Office, said the only exception to today's scorching weather would be seen along the east coast of England.

She said: “There is quite a lot of low cloud, mist and fog in east coastal areas and that will stay for the next few days, so highs of between 12C and 16C there - quite a lot lower than elsewhere.”

But the record is unlikely to last long - as scorching 27C temperatures are expected on Wednesday before cooler air moves in. 

Ms Mitchell added: “There will potentially be some thunderstorms by midweek, the first bout of showers will come into parts of the South West and there will be a few thunderstorms in that.

“There's a chance of some thundery break down in the south east and we could have some quite intense storms there.”

"There's still a lot of uncertainty but with the warm and humid weather we are having we have the key ingredients for thunder storms."

Although a fine bank holiday is rare, the temperatures are not unusual for the time of year, with the mercury usually sitting in the high teens and low 20s by late May.

The Met Office warned previously that levels of harmful UV light will be very high over the coming days, and advised people to wear plenty of sunscreen.

May has been the fourth wettest on record for the UK, and the wettest ever for Wales.