EASTER Sunday was the hottest on record in Wales, the Met Office has said.

Temperatures reached 23C in Ceredigion as visitors and locals flocked to the coast to soak up the sunshine.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna explained why this year's Easter temperatures were particularly warm.

"We've got high pressure at the moment, giving most of the UK a lot of fine weather. This, combined with the fact the high pressure has dominated for the past few days, allowed the temperatures to build.

"It's allowing some record-breaking temperatures to be set."

Mr Petagna suggested the temperatures may also have been helped by the fact Easter is a little later in the calendar this year.

"The later in the year that Easter falls, the higher the sun is in the sky and the stronger it is," he added.

The Met Office said thedry and sunny conditions in the UK were in stark contrast to parts of the Mediterranean, where there were showers and heavy downpours. Temperatures in Barcelona reached around 17C this weekend.

But that’s your lot for now – temperatures are set to fall this week and to return to their seasonal average and there’s rain on the way.