PEOPLE in England and Wales are in for a glorious dry summer if the legend of St Swithin’s Day is to be believed - but Scotland and Northern Ireland might not be so lucky.

The legend states that if it rains on July 15, wet weather will persist for 40 days and 40 nights.

England and Wales had a dry sunny St Swithin’s Day with temperatures soaring as high as 32C, while heavy rain fell in parts of Scotland and much of Northern Ireland.

But Met Officer forecaster Rachael West allayed fears as she said people who have enjoyed a dry Sunday will probably see some showers over the next week, and vice versa.

“Certainly some changes in forecast over the next week, never mind the next coming 40 days. But if people want to believe in St Swithin’s Day then that’s up to them,” she joked.

St Swithin was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, who died in 862.

When he was made a saint in 971, his body was dug up and moved to an indoor shrine in the cathedral.

Some writers claimed this outraged the heavens, causing rain to pour on the church and continue uninterrupted for 40 days.

But the Met Office said there had not been a record of 40 dry or 40 wet days following St Swithin’s Day since records began in 1861.