BOURNEMOUTH held the rare title of the wettest place in the UK on Sunday.

Measurements analysed yesterday showed the resort had the most rainfall with 33.9mm found to have fallen over the 24 hours from 12am.

Bournemouth and the Dorset coast are more commonly credited with being the sunniest and warmest places and weather expert Dr Richard Wild cannot remember the last time it was the wettest area.

Richard, of Bournemouth based WeatherNet Ltd, said: “It was a noticeable amount of rain.

“And it appears Bournemouth was the wettest place in the UK.”

Some of the heaviest rain fell on Sunday morning, with 7.8mm falling between 6am and 7am.

It was a cool day too with the maximum temperature at 8.1 degrees.

Gale force winds were also recorded at the weather station at Hurn, reaching 43mph.

Richard added: “Bournemouth and the Dorset coast area is generally regarded as the sunniest place in the UK.

“Bournemouth often appears at the top of the sunshine league and as one of the warmest “We don’t often have the wettest day and it’s the least common for Bournemouth.

“I could not tell you the last time we had the wettest.”

But Richard said the town saw double that amount of rain during the heavy downpours that hit the resort last summer.

Parts of North and West Dorset saw snow fall at the weekend but Richard said that does not warn of a particularly cold winter ahead and does not indicate whether there is a chance of a white Christmas this year.

Met Office spokesman Dan Williams said the rain on Sunday represented a third of the average amount of total rainfall for the month of November.

The Bournemouth and Poole area was expected to remain mostly dry today at around 12C and getting milder as the week goes on, although rain is likely on Friday.