DIY season begins as shoppers spend £7.8bn
Shopping was top of the agenda for many Brits during the bumper four day Easter weekend with much of the £7.8 billion spent going on barbecues, DIY tools and garden furniture.
The British Retail Consortium has reported that barbecue sales are double what they were last year with plants and garden furniture also vastly more popular than they were this time last year.
DIY shops took approximately £1.5 billion over the weekend as the unofficial DIY season began. Some nine million Brits visited DIY stores and the average customer spent around £370 on home improvement tools and paint.
The sunny weather probably encouraged all the home improvement efforts with experts predicting that the hot spell will continue and become a summer heat wave during June, July and August.
The Met Office has predicted that there is a 70 per cent chance that average temperatures will be above 14C throughout the summer months. 
© Adfero Ltd