When do the clocks go back in 2019 in UK? Autumn officially starts soon giving Brits an extra hour in bed

The clocks will go back on the last Sunday of October, as British Summer Time officially comes to an end.

Brits will get an extra hour in bed on the morning of Sunday, October 27, after the clocks change at 2am.

This signals the end of British Standard Time (BST), meaning the UK will switch back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) - the standard time zone against which all others are set.

But while it means the nation will get a welcome lie-in next Sunday, it also means our days will start getting shorter and our nights longer and colder.

When do the clocks go back?

The clocks change twice a year. Once in March when they go forward an hour and once in October when they go back an hour.

We will gain that hour at 2am on Sunday, October 27. And while your smartphone and laptops will update automatically, analog clocks and other digital clocks, like car and oven clocks, will need to be changed manually.

Why do the clocks go forward?

The custom of changing the clocks by an hour began more than 100 years ago.

In 1916, parliament passed the Summer Time Act, thereby creating British Summer Time.

It was the result of a campaign started in 1907 by William Willett to stop people wasting valuable hours of light in the summer months and to save fuel during the war.

Germany was the first country to adopt the clock-changing plan in April that year and the UK followed in May.

While Daylight Savings Time is observed in most places in Europe, North America and Australasia, most places in Africa and Asia don't observe the practice.

When will the clocks go forward again?

The clocks go forward again on Sunday, March 29 next year.