Highland spring...hottest UK January day on record

BRITAIN enjoyed the mildest January day on record yesterday with the temperatures in one hot spot hitting 19.6C (67F) - making it warmer than Rome or the French Riviera.

- Giles Sheldrick

The high was in Kinlochewe in the Highlands, producing a January best for the UK and a whole winter new high for Scotland, according to provisional data from the Met Office.

The previous record for January was set in Inchmarlo and Aboyne in Aberdeenshire with 18.3C in 2003.

Aber, in Ceredigion, Wales, reached the same level in both 1958 and 1971.