by Jess Banham

Kent is the UK's hay fever capital.

That's according to latest statistics from supermarket giants Tesco, which reveal five of the top 20 towns for sufferers requesting hay fever treatment are in the garden of England!

And Gillingham lays claim to the number one spot in the UK sniffles stakes.

As Britain basks in one of the driest springs in almost 40 years, pharmacies have have had to order more stock to cope with demand.

Overall, sales of hay fever medicines have shot up by 40 per cent this year, the report states.

Kent's most eye-watering towns are Gillingham, Ashford, Maidstone, Whitstable and Dover.

GP Dr Julian Spinks, who practises in Kent, says it is not surprising: "They call Kent the garden of England and gardens are full of things that produce lots of pollen.

"Think of all the lovely flowers we've seen around us producing all that pollen."

He said our recent spell of warm weather has only made things worse: "The fantastic weather that's made them produce the pollen means we haven't had the rain which washes pollen out of the air.

"Often people in towns can get hay fever worse than people in the countryside, although you'd think there was more pollen out there.

"And we think it's due to pollution from things like cars that can add to that and again the sort of weather we've had, has tended to hold pollution down near the ground."

Neighbouring Essex has also been hit hard with demand for allergy drugs.

The UK's hay fever hot spots*

1. Gillingham, Kent

2. Basildon, Essex

3. Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

4. Romford, Essex

5. Ashford, Kent

6. Worcester, Worcestershire

7. Colchester, Essex

8. Maidstone, Kent

9. Stowmarket, Suffolk

10. Windsor, Berkshire

11. Northampton, Northamptonshire

12. Whitstable, Kent

13. Clacton-on-sea, Essex

14. Montrose, Scotland

15. Dover, Kent

16. Reading, Berkshire

17. Great Dunmow, Essex

18. Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire

19. Bournemouth, Dorset

20. Nottingham

* according to Tesco research