UK expected to be warmer than Spain, Italy and Greece this weekend

The official arrival of British Summer Time will this year be heralded not only by lost sleep but also by soaring temperatures as the unseasonably good weather looks set to continue into next week.

Britain is set to bask in above average temperatures over the weekend thanks to a mini-heatwave.

The hot-spot on Sunday is, unusually, set to be Scotland. And the Welsh town of Aberystwyth is likely to show the largest rise in average temperature.

Some areas of the UK have already seen temperatures of above 21c (70f) today.

Matt Dobson, meteorologist at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said even parts of western Scotland could be treated to sunny weather.

"Saturday is looking like the warmest day of the weekend, with the highest temperatures in west London and across the M4 corridor towards Bristol. We are looking at 19 or 20C, possibly 21C," he said.

"In the North, temperatures in Cumbria could get to 18C and western Scotland could get to 16C."

He added: "While we are expecting 20 to 21C here, it will be 20C in Madrid, and 19 to 20C in Rome and Athens so it will be warmer than most of the Med destinations."

However, not all parts of the UK will be experiencing weather suited to the beach, according to Mr Dobson,

"It will be much cooler in eastern parts of Suffolk and the North Sea coast with temperatures between eight and ten degrees."

"It will be misty and murky at times so head west for the best of the weather."