Ice rinks have been forced to close at popular sites in London due to mild winter weather melting surfaces.

       Rinks set up annually outside Somerset House and the Royal Maritime Museum have been forced to close due to the clement conditions, as Britain records the warmest New Year’s Eve on record.

       Somerset House announced on Friday: "We have had to close our ice rink. As we have had several days of warm ambient temperature, the quality of the ice is not sufficient to ensure the safety of our customers."

       The Royal Maritime Museum said that it too had to shut down its rink due to the warm weather, while the ice rink outside Hampton Court Palace has also been closed.

       The Natural History Museum in London is understood to have made arrangements for the mild temperatures in order to try and keep its rink open over New Year.

       Mild temperatures have been recorded across the UK, with highs of 15.3C noted in Coningsby in Lincolnshire, making this year the hottest New Year’s Eve on record.

       Highs could also threaten to beat the record for the hottest New Year’s Day on record, which was set at 15.6C in Bude, Cornwall, in 1916.

       One reason for the unseasonably mild weather is the arrival of moisture from the Atlantic, the Met Office has said, which retains heat but also produces the overcast conditions which have made December exceptionally overcast.

       Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office meteorologist, said of the mild weather: "We're going to see across the whole of the country temperatures that are above average for this time of year.

       "We're looking at highs of around 12-14C (53-57F), possibly locally 15C in one or two spots, so it's going to be well above average."

       The UK has already seen one of its dullest Decembers on record, with the Met office stating that Britain has enjoyed less than 27 hours of sunshine across the past month.