Despite the recent turn in the weather, the UK’s April in lockdown is set to become the sunniest on record.

Many Britons were not able to take advantage of the pleasant conditions this month due to the coronavirus restrictions, with an extended spell of fine, dry and sunny weather seen since late March.

The Met Office recorded 215.8 hours of sunshine between April 1 and 27, which is 46% higher than the average for the month and beats the record of 211.9 hours set in 2015.

The Met Office said April is provisionally the sunniest on record for the UK since 1929.

However, Tuesday marked a change as temperatures dipped in most parts of the UK, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle throughout the day.

With more rain forecast this week, the full statistics for the month will be released on May 1.

Chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Andy Page, said: “After several weeks of high pressure bringing plenty of dry, warm and sunny weather across the UK, this week we’re seeing the return low pressure, allowing Atlantic weather systems to once again move across the UK, bringing unsettled, cooler weather.

“Today (Tuesday) will be cloudy and rather wet across much of England and Wales, however northern areas will enjoy another day of mostly dry weather and sunshine.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday) we’ll see bands of rain moving more widely across the UK, bringing an end to the prolonged warm and dry spell for everyone.

“On Thursday and Friday we’ll see sunny spells and showers for most parts of the UK, with temperatures around average for the time of year.”

Central and eastern areas of the UK saw the most sunshine this month, with the provisional statistics showing a number of areas have broken records.

Cambridgeshire topped the list with 257.8 hours of sunshine between April 1 and 27, which is 64% above average and is set to beat the 1942 record of 236 hours.