A TOUCH of the Mediterranean came to East Anglia this weekend as the region sizzled in scorching temperatures higher than Barcelona, Athens and Cyprus.

A TOUCH of the Mediterranean came to East Anglia this weekend as the region sizzled in scorching temperatures higher than Barcelona, Athens and Cyprus.

Thousands of visitors flocked to the beaches of Suffolk to soak up the sun and enjoy the warm spell.

The mercury soared to 27C (81F) in Norwich - making it the hottest place in the country and several degrees warmer than some of the most popular destinations on the Continent.

Holidaymakers hoping to find Spanish sun in Barcelona were disappointed with temperatures struggling to reach just 15C while resorts in Portugal recorded 18C, Athens 20C and the Canary Islands 22C.

Evening Star weatherman Ken Blowers said: “This is the ninth day of the warm spell in East Anglia. The highest temperature in Ipswich yesterday was 78F (26C).”

Warm air coming from the Mediterranean has caused the good weather - although not everywhere enjoyed heatwave conditions as storms and flash floods struck some areas.

Parts of London, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Scotland all experienced thunderstorms while Wales bore the brunt of flash flooding, with water pumped from houses in Chepstow, Cardiff and Swansea.

Brendan Jones, forecaster with MeteoGroup UK, said more warm weather was expected at the start of this week but temperatures will gradually decrease until Thursday, when it will become unsettled.

He said early indications were that this summer will not be a repeat of last year's washout.

“All we can say is that it can only get better from last year,” he said. “There will be flash floods, but we get them every year.”

Elsewhere in Britain, much of the country enjoyed wall-to-wall sunshine today as the hottest weekend of the year so far came to a close.

Temperatures reached 26 C in places, maintaining the recent spell of warm, sunny weather.

But not everyone was lucky enough to avoid rain, with parts of England and Wales experiencing storms with hail stones, lightning and heavy downpours.

The storms are expected to die out later this evening.

Temperatures in Scotland failed to match those south of the border, with most measuring in the mid to high teens centigrade.

The east cost of Scotland, including Aberdeen, has not gone over 13C today because an easterly wind is bringing in a lot of fog and low cloud off the sea.

Northern Ireland has been relatively sunny, with temperatures reaching 21C.