The Central England Temperature Record, the world’s oldest continuous database for temperatures going back to January 1659, recorded a mean temperature of 11.22C (52.20F) for the 12-month period from March 2006 to the end of February 2007, which was the warmest year-long period on record.

Meteorologist Wayne Elliot said the five warmest years on record are the five past years, and this matched the sort of conditions that the UK is expected to experience as a result of climate change.

“The winter we have just seen is consistent with the type of weather we expect to see more and more in the future.”