Bookies are feeling the heat with weather-watchers putting their money on the prediction this month may be the warmest April ever-recorded .

Odds have been slashed with temperatures forecast to soar into the 20s by midweek and several days of warm weather predicted by experts.

Bookmakers have cut prices with Coral making it just 6/4 - from initial odds of 4/1 - that temperature records for April will be smashed in the next couple of weeks.

Ladbrokes is also quoting 5/4 that this will be the hottest April on record - the shortest price ever offered by the firm, according to The Weather Channel .

Temperatures are set to peak at 26C in some places in the UK on Thursday (April 19) and the last time this heat was reached was on August 26 last year.

In west London, temperatures are forecast to hit 25C in Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Brent, Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea.

Although Wednesday (April 18) is predicted to be sunny and cloudless, forecasters are predicting sunny intervals with light winds on Thursday.

Temperatures will have to get much warmer to beat the highest-ever April temperature of 29.4C, which was measured on April 16, 1949, in Camden.

Some weather watchers believe temperatures this April will be record-breaking

Harry Aitkenhead, a Coral spokesman, said: “Many parts of the UK are set for a glorious few days with temperatures soaring through the 20s.

"There’s a real chance now of this April going on to be the hottest we’ve ever seen."

The firm also quotes 6/4 for 30C or higher to be reached anywhere in the UK by the end of April.

Ladbrokes has also cut odds that the UK will be hotter than Spain this week, offering a short-priced 1/3 that any part of the UK enjoys values higher than the Costas.

Alex Apati, of Ladbrokes, added: “The latest odds suggest it’s goodbye to the Beast from the East and hello again to beach towels and sun cream.”

Ladbrokes is quoting 5/4 that this will be the hottest April on record

Temperatures in southern Britain should be higher than the Canary Islands and Greece when waves of warm air bathe the country by midweek.

In sharp contrast to the UK heatwave, thermometers should only reach the high teens or 20C in Tenerife, with the mercury reaching 20C in the Greek islands.

By Friday, winds will start to move westwards so temperatures will drop slightly, but several bright, fine days are expected before the warmer spell breaks down.

A The Weather Channel spokesman added: “Skies over central Europe will also be mostly clear under high pressure allowing for increased solar radiation to reach the surface and aid increasing daytime temperatures.

“Overall temperature anomalies will be well above normal for this time of year, with the British Isles experiencing its highest temperatures on Thursday.”

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