THE calendar says it's July, but the beach at Scarborough yesterday looked more like a bleak day in January.

Not a single holiday-maker braved the windswept, rain-lashed sand that told the story of this soggy summer.

The miserable weather has already started to take its toll on the seaside tourist trade.

Harry Collett, of the Whitby Tourism Association, said: "The early part of July is usually down until Wimbledon fortnight is over and then it picks up, but the weather is not helping at all. We have had the odd July storm in the past, but now we're getting gale force winds. It's been like a monsoon at times."

North Tyneside Council tourism development manager Peter Warne said they no longer depended on the weather: "We accept family holidays at British resorts are a thing of the past and have moved with the times," he said.

"Our hotels are now geared to short breaks. We also get a lot of visitors from Scandinavia, who come here, not because of the weather, but to sample our history and culture."

A Met Office spokesman confirmed that the gloom was likely to continue.

"There have been about two hours of sunshine a day when there should be five and a half and there has also been 30 to 40mm of rain," he said.

Temperatures in the UK are struggling to reach the July average, while Greece and parts of the Mediterranean are still enjoying the heatwave which has seen temperatures soar well above 100F.