Cold snap hits resorts

The bank Holiday got off to a quiet start yesterday with light traffic as many people stayed at home because of the chilly weather, writes Will Bennett. The AA said that there were no serious hold-ups.

Some British holiday resorts reported that hotels were nowhere near full as many holiday-makers had gone abroad to seek the sun. About 250,000 people left Britain on Friday but airports were less busy on Saturday.

The unusually cold weather for May is likely to continue today and tomorrow. Today an overnight frost will quickly clear in the morning sunshine but it will be cloudy later.

It should stay dry in the south, although there will be some showers in northern England.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will be cloudy with any early brightness in the south short-lived. Showers in northern Scotland will become widespread, heavy and persistent.

Temperatures generally will be one or two degrees colder than is usual for May. However, a spokesman for the London Weather Centre said it was not unusual for there to be frost at this time of year in Britain.