Sunshine and showers for Five

As the country looks forward to more glorious weather for Easter, Five the elephant is enjoying keeping cool with regular hose-downs from keeper Lewis Hodson at West Midland Safari Park.

She relishes relaxing in the spray from a high-power hose as part of her routine to signal the start of summer. Five is an African Elephant rescued from South Africa after her herd was culled in 1998.

Also enjoying basking in the sunshine at the safari park in Bewdley is 12-day-old April the Bactrian camel who with her mother Dawn has been stopping traffic as they wander among visitors' cars.

Native to the Steppes of central Asia, they are able to withstand wide variations in temperature from freezing cold to blistering heat. Athough there are estimated to be 1.4 million Bactrian camels, most are domesticated. The species only number 500 to 800 in the wild and is classified as critically endangered.

Experts say the heat will stay through to the Bank Holiday weekend.

Temperatures are expected to rise to 22C (72F) on Friday rivalling the heat in Barcelona and Athens.