Temperatures did not fall below 12.4C (54.3F) at both Exeter Airport and East Malling in Kent between 9am on Christmas Eve and the same time on Christmas Day, the Met Office said.

The temperature hit 13.6C (56.5F) at Exeter Airport later in the day - making it officially the warmest Christmas Day since 2016.

But the forecaster also confirmed it was an "official white Christmas" after Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore in Scotland recorded a mixture of rain and snow on Monday afternoon.

"Rain, sleet and snow has moved across parts of Scotland today," the Met Office posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The definition that the Met Office uses to define a white Christmas is for one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK.

Today's highest minimum temperature beats the previous 11.5C (52.7F) record set in Waddon, south London in 1983.

It is unlikely 2023 will become the warmest Christmas Day in 100 years - as this would require conditions of more than 15.6C (60.1F) - the record set in 1920.

Predicted highs between 13C (55.4F) and 14C (57.2F) in London and the South East would make it the mildest Christmas Day since 2016, however, when temperatures reached 15.1C (59.2F).

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"We're drawing our weather from the mid-Atlantic, which is typically a very warm direction for us," forecaster Dan Stroud said.

It comes after the warmest Christmas Eve since 1997 on Sunday, with temperatures of 15.3C (59.5F) recorded in Heathrow, west London and Cippenham, Berkshire.

Wind speeds of up to 70mph were logged in Scotland and 60mph in northeast England.