While overnight temperatures were warmer than normal, the seas around the UK were still icy enough to make a traditional New Year’s Day swim a chilly prospect for many.

However dozens took the plunge on Saturday morning, including at Derby Pool, New Brighton, Wirral and at Boscombe Beach in Dorset.

The Met Office said temperatures increased overnight to reach 16.5C in Bala, Gwynedd, north Wales after a New Year’s Eve record of 15.8C was set in Merryfield in Somerset and Nantwich in Cheshire.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the average temperature in December and the beginning of January is usually around 7C or 8C, with the warmer weather due to a south-westerly wind making its way across the country.