Waterproofs were the attire of choice for outdoor fans for much of 2012

There was good news today for waterproof clothing manufacturers as it was announced parts of the UK have had their wettest year on record.

Provisional figures issued by the Met Office show record amounts of rainfall in England up to Boxing Day this year, beating figures going back more than 100 years.

Figures for England show 1,095.8mm of rain so far. If another 46mm of rain falls between today and 31 December, the records for the UK will also be broken.

Many regions, including northern England, the East and North-East of England, the Midlands and East Anglia have also broken records dating back to 1910.

Northern England tops the soggy tables with 1,253mm.

The wettest year on record for the UK overall is 2000 with 1337.3mm. Up to Boxing Day, the figure was 1291.2mm.

The exceptionally warm and dry conditions reported in March this year disappeared with snowstorms, setting the wet trend for the rest of the year across much of the UK and England in particular.

The Met Office said sunshine and temperature figures for this year were about normal, though overall 2012 is set to be cooler than 2011, but warmer than 2010.