Your Bank Holiday weather... sunny with a chance of spiders

SUMMER is set to return for bank holiday Monday, with bright sunny spells and above-average temperatures for some.

While September may be looming, south- eastern areas will enjoy highs of 81F (27C), around 4C higher than usual for this time of the year.

Another untimely event may be less welcome, however – spiders. A wet August could be to blame for the early onset of ‘spider season’ because it has tricked the creatures into premature mating, experts have said.

The poor weather has prompted house spiders to seek shelter indoors from midAugust, a phenomenon not normally seen until late September and lasting until November.

Sightings of large house spiders creep up as breeding season arrives and males scour homes looking for females.

David Cross, of Rentokil Pest Control, said: ‘The rain has tricked spiders into thinking autumn has arrived and they should be mating.’ A slightly earlier start to summer also caused a rise in the number of flying insects, a sought-after source of protein for spiders.

This year saw the wettest July in five years and while August saw an improvement, there have been several downpours. But things look brighter for this weekend. The Met Office said: ‘On Monday England and Wales will be mainly dry with plenty of summer spells.

‘The best of the sunshine will be in the South-East, which could see temperatures as high as 27C.’ In the North, however, it is likely to be a cloudy and wet bank holiday Monday. Today should be dry in most areas, with highs of 70F (21C) in the North and 75F (24C) in the South, although parts of Yorkshire and East Anglia could see some showers.

Tomorrow London could enjoy temperatures as high as 25C, while northern areas are likely to see rain.