IT is the same every year. As soon as the first glimmer of sunshine appears, there are always some hardy souls who insist on donning their shorts and T-shirts in a desperate bid to soak up some much-missed rays.

But thanks to the recent spell of glorious weather, the flip-flop brigade have avoided goose bumps and chattering teeth for the past fortnight - despite the fact that it is still only April.

So is this the sign of things to come for 2007 and can we look forward to a scorching summer in the south?

Or will we be reaching for those winter woollies again sooner than we think?

According to weather experts at the Met Office we can expect another warm summer, with higher than average temperatures.

Sun worshippers might decide to hold off from booking holidays abroad.

Meridian TV weather presenter Gemma Humphries told the Daily Echo: "It looks as though this summer is set to be another hot one!

"Following 2006, the predictions from the University of East Anglia are that 2007 is likely to be the warmest summer on record since 1850, beating the current record set in 1998.

"The forecast for rainfall is less certain and currently there are no predictions of an increased risk of a particularly dry or wet summer.

"However, we will have more details from May.

"In the south we could see some record temperatures once again so it's probably a good bet to holiday in the UK this summer rather than Europe.

"I certainly will be as you can't beat the UK in the sunshine and I'm sure most people would agree!"