This time last year Worcestershire was under several inches of snow

Local photographer Christopher Dale snapped these pictures of his garden this week - basking in the warm Spring sunshine.

But the same spot last year was several inches under snow.

This week the UK experienced its warmest winter day since records began.

Temperatures have been hitting as high as 18C this week as Worcestershire enjoyed days of warm sunshine.

It makes a big change from a year ago, when the region was under several inches of snow.

This week saw temperatures soar, with a reading of 21.2C at Kew Gardens in south-west London on Tuesday setting a new record for February, the Met Office said.

In fact parts of Britain on Tuesday were hotter than a series of popular holiday destinations, beating Malibu, Athens and Barcelona.

But experts have warned that climate change has played a role in pushing winter temperatures to new record highs in the UK.

While the variability of weather makes it hard to link any single event to climate change, global warming is heating up the whole system and making extremes more likely, scientists say.

Grahame Madge, Met Office climate spokesman, said: "Climate change has made what would have already been an extremely warm event even warmer and is probably responsible for tipping it over the 20C threshold."

The warm weather is in stark contrast to this time last year, when the UK was swept by the "Beast from the East" which brought heavy snow showers and lows of minus 5C (23F), leading to travel delays and power cuts in what were the lowest temperatures in the week leading up to March 1 since 1986.

Last year's cold weather was down to a similar weather pattern, but the high pressure instead came from Arctic Russia, moving over Scandinavia.

The conditions seen this week come from the tropic Atlantic and parts of North Africa.

And according to the Met Office, today will be "another fine, sunny and very mild day" with maximum temperatures of 16C.

After a chilly night with a touch of frost, tomorrow will turn unsettled, with showery rain, possibly heavy and thundery. Maximum temperature of 13C.

Friday will be mostly dry and bright. Turning unsettled and windier this weekend, with a spell of wet weather later Saturday, clearing to sunshine and heavy showers on Sunday.