RAY OF HOPE FOR A HOT SUMMER

A spokesman for William Hill, which has cut the odds from 8/1 to 6/1, said: “Punters eagerly await the long-range forecasts and have reacted favourably to the summer round-up. Perhaps they are hoping to win enough to pay for a pool.”

The Met Office predicts a 40 per cent chance of a “wetter and warmer” summer than average.

They warned rainfall levels could also be above average, although they admitted they would be unable to predict floods until a few weeks before. 

And a spokesman warned higher temperatures did not indicate scorching summer days, as the soaring temperatures could occur at night. 

Dr Brian Golding, head of forecasting at the Met Office, said: “We are looking at a few fine days, then some fresher weather, then it warms up again.

“We expect the whole of Europe to be warmer than average over the summer, and in terms of rainfall we are looking at average to above average in north- western Europe and drier than average in south-eastern Europe.”

Dr Golding said a repeat of last summer’s devastating floods was theoretically possible but extremely unlikely.

But their forecast for last  summer, which had the greatest floods on record, concluded: “There are no indications of a particularly wet or a particularly dry summer.” 

David King, director of water management at the Environment Agency, said Britain was prepared for torrential rain. He added: “We have put another 40,000 people on the floodline warning system.”