EAST Lancashire will be bathed in sunshine all weekend, with temperatures set to top those in Madrid, Milan and Malta.

The MET Office has predicted that a top temperature of 18C could be reached tomorrow.

Any mist, fog and low cloud will break in the morning, to leave a dry afternoon with lengthening sunshine.

There will be gentle south-easterly winds.

On Sunday, conditions remain stable, with highs of 18C, and Monday is expected to be sunny without any cloud, with highs once again of 18C.

The sunshine will continue until Thursday.

Nationally, a top temperature of 20C is expected in Eastern regions.

Officials at the MET Office said it will feel “very warm for the time of year”. The average temperature for March is 8.3C.

The warm spell is due to a block of air coming in from the Mediterranean instead of North and Russia, and is a repeat of last year’s unseasonably warm Easter.