David Cameron has agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the problems farmers are facing because of the current dry weather.

The prime minister said he would be willing to discuss the problems caused by the drought after Suffolk MP Therese Coffey raised the issue in parliament on Wednesday (4 May).

During Prime Minister’s Question time, Conservative MP Mrs Coffey said farmers were suffering from the dry spell, which has resulted in the driest March on record and one of the driest Aprils.

According to the Met Office, the country received half of its usual rainfall last month, with central southern England seeing just 4% of its 52.6mm monthly average.

Wales, too, saw far less rain than normal in the first half of the month. The 23.9mm of rain that fell represented 28% of rain usually recorded for the month.

Only Scotland could see above average rain figures by the end of April, with 81% (69.8mm) of the normal precipitation for the month falling in the first two weeks of April.

The dry theme to the weather has been largely caused by blocked weather patterns across the UK.

The patterns have prevented the usual run of westerly winds off the Atlantic Ocean, which bring rain-bearing fronts.