Scotland has each enjoyed its warmest Easter Sunday on record, while Spain experienced April showers, the Met Office said.

Temperatures reached  22.8C in Edinburgh by 2pm, beating temperatures of 20.7C in Aboyne in 2015.

Wales and Northern Ireland both also saw their hottest Easter Sunday, with 23C in Trawsgoed, Wales, and 20.7C in Helen's Bay, Northern Ireland.

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These beat the temperatures of 21.6C in Brynamman, Wales, in 1984, along with 19.4C in Armagh in Northern Ireland dating back to 1924 which were the warmest Easter Sundays for those countries.

The Met office said that in "stark contrast" to the dry and sunny conditions in the UK, Spain and the Mediterranean are seeing showers and heavy downpours.

The spokesman said: "Spain is very unsettled as we go into Easter Monday. There are temperatures of 17C to 16C in Barcelona. There are certainly cooler conditions there compared to the UK."

Wiggonholt in West Sussex, has recorded the highest temperature in England so far on this bright, sunny and dry Easter Sunday with a figure of 24.3C.

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This is still below the top Easter Sunday temperature from 2011 when the mercury reached 25.3C in the Solent.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: "We have got high pressure moving at the moment giving most of the UK a lot of fine weather, this combined with the fact that the high pressure has dominated for the past few days is allowing the temperatures to heat and build.

"It is allowing some record breaking temperatures to be set today and potentially tomorrow as we are looking at a high of 25C or 26C."

He also suggested that the temperatures may also be helped by the fact that Easter has fallen a little later in the calendar this year.

He said: "The later in the year that Easter falls, the higher the sun is in the sky and the stronger it is."