Don't forget - clocks go forward

The UK will switch to British Summer Time (BST) at 1am in the morning, meaning people will effectively lose an hour’s sleep.

The change (also known as daylight saving time) will mean there is more daylight in the evenings but less in the mornings.

British Summer Time was first enforced in 1916 during the First World War in a bid to save money during wartime.

The current system has been in place since 1972.

If you struggle to remember which way the clocks change, you can use the saying: “Spring forward, fall back”.

Facts about British Summer Time

British-born New Zealander George Vernon Hudson first proposed the modern idea of a two-hour daylight saving in 1895.

British Summer Time was suggested in 1907 by William Willett, a keen horse rider and frustrated by the ‘waste’ of daylight in the early mornings during the summer.

Willett’s pamphlet ‘The Waste of Daylight’ campaigned for the clocks to be changed, but he died in 1915 before he could see it come into being as the idea was opposed by many, especially farmers.

Austria and Germany were the first countries to enact ‘Daylight Saving Time’ in 1916, quickly followed the same year by the UK and much of Europe.

It was enforced during the First World War, in a bid to save money during wartime.

The current system has been in place since 1972, proposals to keep the clocks at least one hour ahead of GMT all-year round have been debated frequently in parliament but never implemented.

The lighter evenings are also said to reduce road traffic accidents and crime.

It is argued BST is good for physical and psychological health, particularly in terms of relieving the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

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