Poor British weather this summer is prompting 70% of Brits to plan a late overseas holiday, according to a poll by Monarch.

An online survey by the airline asked visitors to the site if the bad British weather had influenced their holiday plans this year.

Nearly half (47%) confirmed they would now be booking a late holiday deal, while a further 23% answered yes and stated that they were now planning on going away later in the year.

Some 30% of all respondents agreed they love the rain and the weather has had no impact on their UK holiday plans.

Monarch Flights and Holidays managing director Liz Savage said: "We've experienced strong bookings for both flights and holidays already this summer with load factors on scheduled flights reaching a staggering 90% in August and late holiday bookings up 32% versus Summer 2008.

“The results of the poll clearly indicate however that a huge number of holidaymakers who have holidayed in the UK this summer are now planning to travel overseas to take advantage of some fantastic late deals and guarantee themselves some sunshine before the grey winter months set in."

Meanwhile, a recent poll by HolidayExtras.com showed that 52% of customers had booked their holiday within three months of their departure, with 24% of those booking last minute.

By Bev Fearis