Chilly forecast for UK as temperatures plummet

Persistent grey skies and low cloud meant last month was the one of the UK's dullest Octobers on record, new figures show.

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The country saw an average of just 63.3 hours of sunshine, the lowest total for October in nearly 60 years, according to provisional data from the Met Office.

It is also the third lowest figure since comparable records began in 1910, with only 1960 (60.8 hours) and 1968 (56.8 hours) experiencing less sunshine during the month.

Unsettled autumnal weather, including the first named storm of the season and a week of "anticyclonic gloom", helped to shut out the sun, the Met Office said.

For some parts of the UK the sunshine was in even shorter supply, with Wales and Northern Ireland both seeing their second dullest October on record, behind 1968 and 1921 respectively.