Flaming June failed to live up to expectations for outdoor enthusiasts

Last month was the UK’s wettest June on record, with double the average amount of rain.

It was also disappointingly dull and cool, with the second-lowest sunshine figures, and a mean temperature of 12.3C making the June the coolest since 1991.

Only north-west Scotland escaped the gloom, with most recording stations in the region close to record low levels for rain.

The provisional figures were released today by the Met Office, the Government’s official weather forecasters.

June continued a miserable weather period for outdoor enthusiasts. A spokesperson said: “This is the second record-breaking month of rainfall this year, with April also topping the rankings. The period from April to June is also the wettest recorded for the UK.”

The UK had only 119.2 hours of sunshine in June.

The spokesperson added: “Movements in the track of the jet stream, a narrow band of fast-flowing westerly winds high in the atmosphere, have contributed to the weather we have seen.

“This June has seen periods of heavy and prolonged rain, as well as short but exceptionally heavy showers.

“The total UK rainfall was 145.3mm, exactly twice as much as you would normally expect compared to the 1971 to 2000 average. This beats the previous record of 136.2 mm set in 2007.”

Wales and Northern Ireland have been wettest, followed by England, then Scotland.

The rainfall figures were first collected in 1910.