FROM solemn Walks of Witness to joyous Easter egg hunts, traditions old and new were celebrated across the area this Easter – boosted by a blistering bank-holiday heatwave.

It was officially the hottest Easter Monday on record, the Met Office confirmed, while Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far with 25.5C recorded in Gosport, Hampshire.

Many braved the traffic to head down the coast, or closer to home at Frensham Ponds. But, as these photos show, there was plenty of fun to be had in the area, too, over the Easter break – and building up to it in local schools.

Newborn babies at the Royal Surrey were knitted bobble hats as part of the hospital’s care bundle, while children at Fernhurst Centre followed knitted chicks to find their Easter eggs.