London temperatures will soar to 26C ahead of the late May Bank Holiday weekend, making it the hottest place in the UK. Temperatures will rise across the country to the mid and low-20s next week, peaking at 26C in the capital on Friday. Manchester could reach 23C, and Cardiff is set to bask in 20C, according to the Met Office.

Sunshine and showers are expected for the first half of the week, before temperatures start to rise and it becomes drier and brighter by Thursday and Friday, the weather agency predicted.

Craig Snell, forecaster at the Met Office, said: “The first half of this week is still going to be changeable, if not unsettled, across parts of the UK. Temperatures at the start of the week still a little subdued for the time of the year, as we head towards the weekend we are expecting to see a change.”

Blustery conditions are expected into Tuesday, with wind and rain, sometimes heavy, along with thunder. Temperatures will begin to climb nearer to what is expected for the end of May, the forecaster said.

On Wednesday, there will be a mixture of sunshine and showers, but temperatures in the south of England will climb towards 20C.

The forecaster said it was a bit too early to say what will happen after Friday, but the general trend is that the warm weather will continue.

“The best of the sunshine across the bank holiday weekend will probably be across England and Wales,” he said. "Temperatures still above normal, potentially very warm again, but it’s a bit too far in the future to get maximums.

“Indications are at the moment that the bank holiday looks a lot better than what we’ve had over the last week or so.”