A Scottish village was hotter than the Costa del Sol as it recorded what is believed to be the country's highest ever January temperature.

The mercury reached 17.7C in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, at 1400 GMT on Sunday.

That beat the previous Scottish record, which was set when the Sutherland village of Lairg recorded a temperature of 16.7C in January 1971.

This warm air has crossed the Scottish mountains, dried out and become even warmer on the sheltered side Michael Dukes Weather expert

However, the UK's top January temperature was experienced at Aber in North Wales, where there was a reading of 18.3C on 27 January 1958.

Weather historian Philip Eden said the Aboyne reading represented a Scottish record.

A spokesman for the PA Weather Centre said warm winds from the Azores were responsible for the "exceptional" temperatures.

Michael Dukes said: "This warm air has crossed the Scottish mountains, dried out and become even warmer on the sheltered side.

Snow and ice

"It is very mild elsewhere across the UK but 17.7C is exceptional and is warmer than many a summer day."

However, he predicted that the weather would change in the coming days, with snow and ice on the way.

"This is because the wind will swing round to the north by the middle of the week, bringing bitterly cold air all the way from the North Pole," he said.