The UK has recorded its warmest spring on record and its driest in more than 50 years, provisional Met Office figures show.The three months from March to May were also the sunniest spring on record for the UK, the figures reveal.The figures come after north-west England became the first region in the country to declare a drought following the exceptionally dry spring, farmers struggled to grow crops, and millions of households were warned they could face hosepipe bans this summer without sustain

The UK has recorded its warmest spring on record and its driest in more than 50 years, provisional Met Office figures show.The three months from March to May were also the sunniest spring on record for the UK, the figures reveal.The figures come after north-west England became the first region in the country to declare a drought following the exceptionally dry spring, farmers struggled to grow crops, and millions of households were warned they could face hosepipe bans this summer without sustained rainfall.And environmental campaigners said the latest data was a "stark warning" that climate change was no longer a distant threat, but one which needed immediate action.