UK weather forecast: Easter temperature records could be broken as Britain's scorching weekend leaves Europe in the shade

Highs of 26C would make sunniest spots of UK warmer than most of Europe, Morocco and Algeria

Britons could experience the hottest Easter Sunday on record after the warmest day of the year so far on Saturday, according to the Met Office.

The temperature hit 25.5C in Gosport, Hampshire, at approximately 3.30pm yesterday, with temperatures around 10C higher in many places compared with the average for this time of year.

And temperatures are expected to climb even with highs of 26C expected on Easter Sunday and 27C on Monday, making the sunniest spots in the UK warmer than most of Europe, Morocco and Algeria.

The record for Easter weather was set on Holy Saturday in 1949, when a temperature of 29.4C was recorded in Camden Square, north London.

The hottest Easter Sunday on record for the UK is 25.3C, reached in Solent in Hampshire in April 2011.

The Solent also lays claim to the hottest Easter Monday with 24C recorded, also in 2011.

Helen Roberts, a Met Office forecaster, said the Solent's records were the "ones to keep an eye on and could be broken".

She also described temperatures as “way above average” for this time of year and said that most Britons are enjoying dry, sunny and very warm conditions under fine clear skies.

And Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said that Easter Sunday could set regional record temperatures in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The 20.7C enjoyed in Aboyne, Scotland, in 2015, along with 21.6C in Brynamman, Wales, in 1984 and 19.4C in Armagh in Northern Ireland in 1924 are the top temperatures recorded on Easter Sunday for those regions.

The hot weather is thought to have caused a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire on Saturday evening.

Fire crews from across Yorkshire responded to the blaze across 50 acres of moorland and used beaters, leaf blowers and portable pumps in an attempt to extinguish the blaze.

More than 70 firefighter were still at the scene as of Sunday morning with police deployed to keep people away from the area.

Hay fever suffers have also been warned of a “deadly pollen bomb” which could put people with asthma at risk of a potentially life-threatening attack.

The pollen count is forecast as high for most places until Tuesday and in the southeast until Wednesday.

Sonia Munde, of Asthma UK, warned sufferers to take hay fever and prescribed medicines and to keep their blue reliever inhaler with them at all times in case of an emergency.

This year, Easter falls on the latest date since 2011, meaning that warm weather is far more likely that those years when Easter falls in March. It will not be this late again until 2030.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes has cut odds from 5/6 to just 8/11 for this year to see the hottest Easter Sunday on record.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "Brits have been treated to a scorching start to the Easter weekend and things will only get hotter if the latest odds are anything to go by."

The warm weather is expected to continue until Tuesday with highs of 25-26C, according to Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna.

However, from Wednesday onwards heavy thundery rain will move upwards from the south with temperatures cooling off, but still above average for this time of year.

Mr Petagna said that some parts of the country can expect thunderstorm warnings to be issued from Wednesday.

Additional reporting by PA