The weekend is set to be cracking for warm weather.

So whether you are relaxing in the garden at home or heading out for some Easter fun, the forecast looks promising.

Some areas in north Essex could see temperatures as high as 21C - making it hotter than Ibiza, Barcelona and Athens.

The temperatures are set to be on par with Rome.

Colchester will see sunshine across all four days with highs of 18C on Friday.

It will get warmer on Saturday when it could be 21C, while Sunday will also be a balmy 20C.

Monday will also bring fine weather with highs of 19C.

In Clacton and Harwich there will also be nice sunny weather with highs of 19C on Sunday and Monday.

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Maldon will also see lovely weather with highs of 21C on Saturday and 20C on Sunday. Both Friday and Monday will have highs of 19C.

Braintree is more likely to see some cloudy weather with sunny intervals but temperatures will remain high with 21C expected on Saturday and 20C on Sunday.

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Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Steve Willington said: “Temperatures will reach into the low 20s Celsius quite widely and there’s a good chance some places in the south could see temperatures peaking around 23 Celsius.

"With temperatures usually around 10 to 13 Celsius at this time of year, it’s certainly going to be significantly warmer than average this Easter weekend and quite a contrast to the colder weather we have seen so far this month.”

However, the warm and sunny weather might not stick around for everyone through the whole weekend.

Steve Willington continued: “It currently looks like more changeable and cooler weather will arrive from the northwest from Easter Sunday, however there remains the chance that southeastern parts of the country could remain warm and settled into Easter Monday.

"With this uncertainty in mind, our advice is to keep up to date with the latest forecast if you are making plans.”