THE summer sun that has bathed Suffolk and Essex in tropical temperatures is set to stick around for the week ahead, forecasters have predicted.

The mercury measured 27C yesterday, although many people chose to stay indoors for much of the day in order to watch the big England match with rivals Germany.

The sunshine will continue all week, forecasting service Weatherquest said, although there is a chance that a few thundery showers may be on the way.

Phil Garner, a forecaster at Weatherquest, based at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, said June had so far recorded less than a quarter of its average rainfall.

He said: “It has been dry. That’s been a real signature for this month. Rainfall has been well below average, about 20% of the average. There’s always the potential for picking up .

“Monday will be 25C or 26C and we may reach 27C again as we go on to Wednesday. These are superb conditions for outdoor events.”

Mr Garner said the high pressure coming in to our system had triggered the dry spell, and was giving us hot summer days but also could lead to short thundery showers, which could come in the middle of the week.

But Mr Garner said he could not predict with any accuracy whether the weather would stay sunny and dry throughout the rest of the summer.

He added: “We forecast up to 10 days ahead. Beyond that it becomes very difficult.”