Wet Wimbeldon On The Cards As Rain Persists

The Wimbledon tennis tournament is likely to be hit by frequent rain as June's poor weather continues, forecasters have warned.

There will be a sunny start to the first day's play on Monday, but wet weather will persist through both weeks of the event.

Organisers will be cheered by predictions that the rain will be interspersed with sunny spells.

A Met Office spokesman said: "What we are likely to see is a mix of the weather we have seen recently - on the dry side and relatively sunny with one or two rogue showers around, but interspersed with periods of cooler and wetter weather."

England and Wales are on course for the wettest and least-sunny June since records began more than 230 years ago.

On average, there was just 47 hours of sunshine in the first half of the month - 50% less than normal.

There are nine flood alerts in place across the UK - most of those in the South West - and the figure could rise as rain continues.

Around 14,500 people marked the summer solstice at a rain-soaked Stonehenge.

At Royal Ascot, a thunderstorm is forecast for 2pm, when the Queen travels down the racecourse in a horse-drawn carriage procession.

Powerful 50mph winds are set to roll in from the Atlantic at the weekend, and temperatures could struggle to top 15C.