Hottest June for 28 years!

We have had gales, torrential rain, hail and thunderstorms.

And a string of violent rainstorms disguised the fact that there has actually been unusually low rainfall too.

Meteorological Office forecasters believe an influx of tropical winds was responsible for the unusual conditions.

"We had a lot of weather moving up from the tropics, brought by southwesterly winds," said Met Office forecaster Wayne Elliott.

"Overall we saw temperatures about 1.5C above what we had expected, which is actually quite a lot, but because we had rain and some showers it didn't always feel like a hot month."

The clear tropical air also led to a month of low pollution. Mr Elliott added: "Despite several storms and heavy rain showers, June was also drier than usual, we had about 85 per cent of the rain we would expect."

There were fears earlier in the month that water supplies could dry up. Alerts were also issued over the health of trees in London's parks, which have so far failed to recover from last year's summer and a mild winter.

Some experts believe the high temperatures are a sign of global warming. Species foreign to these shores are breeding, posing a possible threat to native animals and plants.

Experts say the wild parrot population has exploded, with numbers expected to reach 100,000 by the end of the decade. There are fears established species such as starlings, jackdaws, kestrels and little owls could suffer as aggressive parrots and other species vie for territory and food.

However, while the weather last month bears comparison with 1976, it is unlikely the summer will rival the record-setting heatwave of almost 30 years ago.

That year, the ground cracked during a 16-month dry spell - the longest recorded over England and Wales since 1727.

Only 50 per cent of normal rainfall occurred between June and August, and there was no rain over much of England and Wales for several weeks in the latter part of July and for most of August. Forecasters say this year we are in for a breezy and unsettled July.