RED faced weather forecasters were keeping a low profile after predicting wrongly that last weekend would bring a touch of the Arctic to Bromsgrove.

Forecasters were split about a likely cold snap at the end of last week.

John Kings, Meteorologist at the University of Birmingham, had warned that the weather would be the worst for 15 years with freezing temperatures and snow.

He had told the Advertiser/Messenger that he was confident of it being very cold with notable snow setting in from last Friday.

But youngsters hoping for a weekend of snowmen, snowballs and toboggans instead found it mild with just nothing more than brief spells of wintry rain on Saturday.

The Met Office at the University of Birmingham had expected the warming westerly Jet Stream to divert to the South leaving the UK engulfed in cold air from the North and East.

John Kings who had forecast the cold weekend said he was not able to comment but has been defended by weather consultant Simon Keeling who is also BBC weatherman in the Midlands.

"It was an easy mistake to make and in fact the weekend was cold in Scotland, Ireland and Spain. But I think too much reliance was put on computer models," said Simon. "The forecast of very cold weather was also premature and had it been made 24 hours later it would have been less extreme."

But Simon forecasts that although wet later this week the general outlook for February is for it to be cold and dry.

"I am predicting temperatures a degree of two below average throughout the month but it will not be perishing cold," he said.