Sun worshippers will finally be able to strip off their winter woollies and bask in some warming rays after weeks of grey skies and rain.

Summer will arrive in Britain this week with balmy temperatures of up to 25C expected to grace some parts of the country following the early-Spring washout, forecasters said.

Tom Tobler, forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "It's certainly turning quite warm this week and things will really start to heat up from Wednesday onwards.

"The temperature will begin to rise today, with a fair amount of cloud mixed with sunshine, but people will really start to notice a difference tomorrow."

The mercury is expected to peak at 21C in the south east and temperatures elsewhere will hit the mid to high teens, even in Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

Eastern areas will wake up to low cloud tomorrow morning but it will burn back to be replaced by sunshine during the day, MeteoGroup said.

Temperatures on are expected to reach 23 or 24C in the south east and most of England and parts of Wales and Scotland will get in to the low 20s, experts said.

By Wednesday the mercury will soar will be even higher, peaking at 25C in London and the central south east.

Tobler added: "It will generally be over 20C everywhere by Wednesday with the exception of the North Sea coast which will be hanging on to some cloud, but we should see a lot of dry and sunny weather throughout the week."

Weather watchers in eastern should not pack away their umbrellas just yet though with the chance of a few heavy showers.

"There is the chance of some thundery downpours in the East on Wednesday and Thursday but they will be pretty few and far between," Tobler added.

More unsettled weather is expected next week.