suffolk: Bright sunshine drenching the Suffolk coast has made it feel more like the Spanish Costas over the last week.

The mercury soared, reaching highs of 21C in parts of the county yesterday, matching temperatures in Alicante, Benidorm and Menorca.

And forecaster Joe Osborne at Weatherquest said the recent balmy days are “much higher” than the average 14C expected at the start of May.

Speaking last night he told the Evening Star today will be “almost identical” to the hot, dry day enjoyed yesterday. It will stay warm over the next day or so and even into Thursday, Friday and the weekend it will still be warm,” he said.

However, he added that by later in the week: “It may feel noticeably cooler as temperatures are expected to return to the average highs of 15C.”

But he warned the dismal conditions for gardeners and farmers are set to continue, with no heavy downpours on the horizon.

“From Thursday there is a chance of isolated showers, but that won’t please everyone. There are no prolonged downpours on the horizon. It is not ideal for farmers at the moment, but hopefully some will get the rain they have been hoping for soon.”

Suffolk Coastal MP Dr Therese Coffey raised the plight of Suffolk’s farmers recently during Prime Minister’s Questions.

She said farmers were suffering during the drought and asked for a meeting on the subject.

n Send us your weather pictures. E-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk

n Dr Therese Coffey – page 16