PEOPLE in Worcestershire enjoyed unusually warm weather this Christmas – and can expect the mild temperatures to continue into the new year.

Your Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said the festive season was as mild as he had seen, with some cloud and bright spells.

He said that temperatures were not expected to fall significantly with New Year’s Eve on the horizon.

Mr Damari noted highs of 14C (57F) which compares very favourably to the low of minus 17C (1F) recorded in Pershore last year, and welcomed the warmer temperatures as a reprieve from snow, frost and high fuel bills.

He said: “I have never recorded that at Christmas in all the years I have been doing this. The Atlantic flow has been pumping more strongly, so it remained in double figures and the mild weather will keep re-occurring.

“Temperatures for today, tomorrow and Friday will return to about 8C (46F), which is about what it should be at this time of year.

“On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, there will be some cloud and a bit of brightness and temperatures will continue in double figures, from 10C to 13C (50-55F). During the night time, it won’t fall much below 9C or 10C (48-50F).”

The unseasonal weather has even caused a very early onset of spring, with daffodils already in full bloom in one Worcester garden.

Penny Steadman, of Foxglove Road, St Peter’s, said she was surprised by the display but welcomed the splash of colour in mid-winter.

She said: “There’s probably about a dozen out. They are beautiful but it’s just such a strange thing to see at Christmas.

“They are just at the front of the house, where it seems to catch the right light and it’s always ahead of itself. You think it should be April, not December.”