Scotland deluged with 23 times more spring rain than East Anglia

But Scots experienced a washout this spring, with Met Office figures showing Scotland had 2,300 per cent more rain than the parched fields of East Anglia.

Atlantic weather systems dropped 397.4mm of rain north of the Border, while East Anglia had only 17.4mm during the traditional spring timescale, from 1 March to 25 May.

Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said: "These are really quite dramatic differences. High pressure has been sitting across the south of the UK, keeping the south-east particularly dry.

"In contrast, Atlantic weather systems have just been rolling into Scotland for weeks."

The Met Office said that while Scotland traditionally had much wetter springs than southern areas of England, spring rainfall north of the Border was only 258.8mm last year.

Gary Reavell, of the Glencairn Guest House in Morar, Inverness-shire, which has seen some of the worst spring weather, said the heavy rain had hit his business. "It has been horrendous. We have had a number of cancellations directly as a result of the weather," he said.

"One woman was coming up to visit her son who was camping nearby, but he was so wet he told her not to bother coming.

"Another group of girls who are planning to climb Ben Nevis decided to say for one night instead of two because of the conditions."

But the wet weather has been good news for some, including farmers and umbrella firms.

Sarah Anderson, from the National Farmers Union Scotland, said: "Farmers have had a very, very good spring this year, compared with their English counterparts. It was very warm and dry to start with, meaning lambs and calves could be put outside pretty much straight away.

"Then it got to the point where they needed rain for crops such as barley, oats, oilseed rape and potatoes.

"But fruit growers were badly affected by the recent gales."

A spokeswoman for internet umbrella company brolliesgalore.co.uk, which is based in West Calder, West Lothian, said: "Rainfall is good for us. We've had an increase in sales for Scotland – not so much for England."

Forecasters said that, despite the next 48 hours bringing some bad weather, Scotland will enjoy better conditions than Ibiza at the weekend, with temperatures expected to rise to 25C in some parts of the country on Friday and Saturday.

In contrast, the Mediterranean island, where Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha are on holiday, will see thunderstorms and temperatures of 20-21C.

Double your sunscreen factor

Recommendations for people to use a minimum factor 15 sun cream are "not in the interests of public health", experts have said.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published guidance saying people should wear broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreens with a minimum factor-15 sun protection.

But today, an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin urges a rethink, saying the recommendation is far too low. It suggests products labelled with a sun protection factor of 30 and a four- or five-star rating.