Details of these record-breaking temperatures were released by the Met Office yesterday and showed an average temperature of 11.1C in April 2007.

The previous record of 10.6C was set back in 1865. Weather experts also confirmed that a new rolling 12-month mean temperature record has been established - beating the previous record set a decade ago.

According to the most recent mean Central England Temperature (CET) records, the provisional figure for May 2006 to April 2007 is 11.6C - smashing the previous record of 11.1C for the 12-month period ending in October 1995.

The news comes as forecasters at the Met Office predict another weekend of above-average temperatures for most of the country.

The CET is the world's longest- running temperature series and dates back to 1659.

Based on that, April 2007 and the 12-month rolling period ending in April 2007 are set to become the warmest since recordkeeping began 348 years ago.

The warming trend observed in the CET since the 1980s is consistent with climate predictions from the Met Office Hadley Centre, which undertakes research on the effect climate change could have in the UK and around the world.

A recent global study - Defence and Security Implications of Climate Change - looks at the environmental stresses brought about by an increasingly warmer world.

These include drought, flooding, changes in crop yield and water resources.

Dr Debbie Hemming, climate scientist at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said that the effects of rising temperatures are being experienced in regions around the world.

"Many of the regions that are projected to experience the largest climate changes are already vulnerable to environmental stress from resource shortages, rapid urbanisation, population rise and industrial development," she said.