Parts of the UK, including Kent, experienced the mildest December night for many years last night, according to weather experts.

And Gravesend - often the country's hottest spot during the summer - narrowly missed out on claiming the record for the warmest December day today with a temperature of 17.1°C being recorded at 2pm.

The record high for a December day in Britain is 18.3°C, recorded in North Wales in January 1958 and January 1971.

The temperature in Gravesend was higher than Athens in Greece (12°C) and Valetta in Malta (14°C).

Overnight temperatures stayed above 11°C in many parts of the country.

And the unseasonably mild spell looks set to continue into next week.

The Met Office forecast for the rest of today (Saturday) is for Kent and south east England to remain dry, very mild and breezy, with strong winds continuing along the south coast. The minimum temperature will be around 12°C.

Tomorrow (Sunday) promises a brighter day with sunny spells and a scattering of showers, with some briefly heavy near the south coast.

It will remain mild but will be fresher than today (Saturday). Maximum temparatures are expected to reach 14°C.

The mildest 24-hour period currently on record for December in England was recorded at Whitby in North Yorkshire in 1994 - with a low of 13.7C.

Across the UK as a whole the highest 24-hour minimum for a December night was recorded at Hawarden, Flintshire, in north-east Wales on December 12 also in 1994, when temperatures stayed up at 15C.

And if you're dreaming of a white Christmas then you're very likely to be disappointed. The current forecast for Christmas Day shows low pressure on the scene, strong southwest winds and some wet weather likely in some parts of the country.