Strawberries will be the cream of the crop this year

STRAWBERRIES are set for a bumper summer with crops on course to be the largest ever following the warmest spring on record.

Unprecedented levels of sunshine in recent weeks have resulted in supermarkets ordering extra supplies of home-grown berries, with experts claiming strawberry production has increased by 20 per cent compared with previous years.

Yesterday, the Met Office confirmed the UK had recorded the sunniest spring since records began in 1929, with more than 573 hours of sunshine across the season. Only nine springs have seen more than 500 hours of sunshine in the UK, with the previous sunniest being 555 hours in 1948.

Laura Mitchell, a buyer for Tesco, said the unseasonably warm weather had resulted in “exceptionally good” berries, with increased crops in southern England, Staffordshire, Lancashire and Leicestershire, as well as across Scotland and Wales. The supermarket said it had bought an extra 300 tons of British-grown strawberries because of the increased availability.

Ms Mitchell said: “It’s resulted in exceptionally good-quality, sweet strawberries, with sugar levels boosted by the longer, sunny days.”

Phillip Busby, who is a grower at Busby Partners in Chilcote, Leicestershire, said: “Tesco is helping the growers move excess crop, saving on food waste, and with quality being so good, it’s a really great offer.”

Nick Marston, chairman of industry body British Summer Fruits, said that growers have been providing an increasing number strawberries in the UK since 2016.

“I would expect this year to see at least another 10 per cent increase,” he said. “You don’t know what the crop will be, but I would expect to see a crop in excess of 100,000 tons.”