SCOTLAND is set to enjoy a mini heatwave this week and into the weekend - just as parts of the lockdown are set to ease.

Nicola Sturgeon is due to announce on Thursday whether or not the country can move into 'phase 1' of the route-map out of lockdown.

If this is the case, Scots can sunbathe in parks/beaches and meet one other household outside or in gardens from Friday - while maintaining physical distance.

Non-contact sport like golf and fishing can also be allowed.

And forecasters are predicting sizzling temperatures across the country - just in time.

Barrhead News: People enjoy the warm weather in Guildford

In Glasgow, forecasters are predicitng 24C on Friday, with 23C on Saturday and 22C on Sunday.

Keeping in the west, Ayrshire is set to average around 22C across the three days .

In Edinburgh, temperatures of around 18-20C are forecast, with 18-21C predicted for parts of Fife and around 21C in the Borders.

A Met Office statement reads: "A dry spell of weather with long bright or sunny spells.

"Becoming very warm with temperatures reaching the mid twenties Celsius."

But despite the warm temperatures, the public are being warned over the "genuine danger" that coronavirus will begin to spread as the lockdown measures are eased.

Speaking on Monday, the First Minister said that “even as we glimpse a possible end to some lockdown restrictions” it is “more important than ever” to follow the measures that remain in place.

“As we start to lift these restrictions there is a genuine danger that the virus will start to spread again a bit more quickly,” she said.

“The way in which we ensure that doesn’t happen – and that way in which we enable even more restrictions to be lifted in future – is to continue to follow whatever public health guidance is in place at the time.”