Holiday weather blew hot and cold

They may be only 90 miles apart, but for bank holiday sunseekers the two resorts could not have been more different.

As visitors to Bournemouth's seven miles of sand basked in temperatures of 65f (18c) yesterday, the only thing to brave the downpours in 59f (15c) Eastbourne was a solitary seagull.

The contrast between sunny Dorset and chilly East Sussex was a perfect example of the vagaries of the British weather.

For many, the weekend had started so promisingly with a miniheatwave on Friday and Saturday.

Temperatures in London even hit an incredible 89f (31.7c), the hottest May day for 50 years and only two degrees Fahrenheit short of an all-time record. But by yesterday, large parts of the country woke to grey skies and drizzle.

The South-East saw the worst of the weather with thunderstorms and, in some places, hail. Some parts of London even experienced half an inch of rainfall by lunchtime. In Kent, firemen were kept busy when a church, bungalow and pylon were struck by lightning.

A Met Office spokesman said: 'It's a classic example of Britain's typically unpredictable weather.

'The heatwave on Friday was freak weather and we predicted it would deteriorate. The weather isn't that bad for this time of year, it's just that people's expectations were raised because of Friday.'

Unfortunately the forecast for the rest of the week isn't any better. Further wet weather is expected for most of the country with heavy rain moving in tomorrow and remaining in the Midlands and North throughout Thursday and Friday.

Bank holiday drivers were caught in huge tailbacks yesterday when a fatal accident at 4pm forced the closure of the M1 northbound between junctions 1 and 5.