Photograph by Julian Burgess
Parts of England have had their wettest January since records began according to early figures from the Met office.
Met Office statistics show that a large area of southern England form East Devon to Kent and inland towards the midlands has seen twice the average rainfall for the month, with the rainfall Southeast and central southern England beating the previous records set in 1988.
In contrast, northern Scotland has only received around 85% of its long term average rainfall in the month.
Overall, the UK has seen around 35% more rainfall than average with 164.6mm.
The main reason for this mild and wet weather is the predominance of west and south-west winds, bringing in mild air from the Atlantic, as well as the unsettled and at times stormy conditions.
