Bank Holiday Monday is the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures expected to continue to climb in parts of the UK.

People flocked to parks and beaches to enjoy the balmy conditions as 24.6C was recorded in Kinloss in Scotland on Monday, according to the Met Office.

This surpassed the previous high for 2021, set on March 30 at Kew Gardens in south-west London, when the temperature reached 24.5C.

Conditions were similar in Northolt in west London on Monday, where 24.5C has been recorded, while the mercury hovered around 20C in Blackpool and Bristol, according to a Met Office forecaster.

Temperatures are predicted to reach 25C in parts of the UK later on Monday as people enjoy the long weekend and newly restored freedoms following the lifting of many lockdown restrictions.

Although a new benchmark for the year has been set, it is not expected to last for long, as temperatures are expected to climb to 27C (80.6F) on Wednesday before cooler, fresher air moves in.

Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist from the Met Office, warned there could be some thunderstorms on the way.

“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,” she said.

The storms in the South West are expected to hit on Wednesday, with the South East due a bit of a soaking by Friday.

“There’s a chance of some thundery breakdown in the South East and we could have some quite intense storms there,” Ms Mitchell said.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty but with the warm and humid weather we are having we have the key ingredients for thunderstorms.”

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