FORECASTERS have warned that the current cold weather will continue as long as Britain remains an island betweeen continental Europe and the Atlantic during winter.

The January cold spell is expected to last throughout February and well into spring unless the UK suddenly finds itself in the Caribbean, which is thought unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Meteorologist Martin Bishop said: “I’m not sure why we’re seeing newspaper headlines about upcoming cold weather. Were people expecting heatwaves?

“Regardless, if you’re holding out hope for sunshine and high temperatures over the next few months, our long-range forecasts, combined with Britain’s latitude and climate, make it very unlikely.

“You might even say that hoping for anything different is a waste of time, especially in the north, so perhaps everyone could stop discussing it entirely.”

Mary Fisher of Carlisle said: “It’s ridiculous is what it is. We’d be having blue skies and sunshine if it wasn’t for the EU.”

“It’s political correctness gone mad.”