South West Herfordshire is set to keep fighting off the autumn blues as forecasts predict a warm start to October.

The Met Office has announced temperatures across most of England will go over 20 Celcius as October starts, following one of the hottest Septembers in recent years.

On average, Septembers in England have averaged 17.8C for 30 years and trends indicate this month is set to beat the figure by several degrees.

Watford, Borehamwood and St Albans can expect temperatures to reach 18C at the start of next week.

Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: “Even though this weekend and the beginning of October next week will see nothing like the 34C heat of a few weeks ago, next week will be fairly pleasant for the time of year.

“We expect to see temperatures breaking above 20C."

However, Ms Sharples warned showers may well be on their way to temper the unseasonable heat.

She warned the weekend may see temperatures in the high teens but they will not feel as warm in areas where rain appears.