It’s official. Last month was the sunniest, warmest and driest April ever recorded in Bradford.

Statistics gathered at the Lister Park weather station, which is maintained by Bradford Council, reveal that last month the mean temperature was a balmy average 11.5 degrees Celsius (53F), against the previous high of 10.7 degrees Celsius (51F) in 1966.

The readings show that April was the driest on record in the district, with only 3.9mm (0.15ins) of rain, with the previous low of 4.2mm (0.17ins) recorded in 2007.

It was also the sunniest April on record, with 206.7 hours of sunshine – 11-and-a-half hours more than the previous highest recorded in 1942.

Meteorological readings at the station, which are sent to the Met Office by the Council, are a century-long tradition dating back to 1908.

Simon Drake, Bradford Council’s parks and landscape manager for Bradford West, said: “This April was noteworthy for the many dry, sunny and warm days.

“Many families took advantage of these record-breaking conditions over Easter and the Bank Holiday weekends to visit their local park, be that to play football or enjoy a stroll.”

  • Read the full story in Saturday's T&A