OXFORDSHIRE has enjoyed one of the hottest days of the year so far as temperatures soared.

The mercury hit 23 degrees Celcius on Sunday afternoon, smashing Saturday's top temperature of 18.

No surprise, then, that sun-seekers have been taking full advantage of the clement weather.

Ian Hornby from Blackbird Leys took his boys Dylan, eight, and Keelan, five, to Hinksey Splash Park on Abingdon Road on Saturday, and they ended up diving into the outdoor pool next door.

Mr Hornby said: “They had an absolutely brilliant time – they loved it.

“When we’ve been before it was always crammed but when we got there at midday we had the place to ourselves.”

The large heated outdoor pool at Hinksey Park officially opened for the season last Monday after some improvement works over the winter, including a deep clean and several new paint jobs.

Six-year-old Amima Rachdi-Broadway also took full advantage of the near-empty pool to splash to her heart’s content, and said: “It’s awesome at the pool today.”

Lifeguard Laurie Parrick, pictured here in his shades, is clearly going to have a busy season.

Elsewhere in Oxford, more athletic sun-seekers took full advantage of the new beach volleyball court at Cutteslowe Park, opened just last August by Oxford Volleyball Club.

Sadly, after such a wonderful weekend, temperatures in Oxfordshire are set to plummet back to a much more average 12 degrees tomorrow and for the rest of the week, but Easter Weekend is at least set to be dry, if not quite as sweltering.