DRUIDS and pagans were among thousands of people at Stonehenge to witness the sunrise this morning on the shortest day of the year.

Hundreds of people were also at Avebury this morning to welcome the sun.

The solstice marks the latest dawn and the point when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky.

The sun rose over Stonehenge at 8.04am, although clouds meant it could not be seen.

It is thought that almost 5,000 were there for the solstice on what could be the mildest December 22 on record.

The Met Office said it was "finely balanced", but sunshine in the afternoon could put the heat on the 105-year record for the warmest December 22. The Greater London area is the most likely to beat the record of 16.1C set at Hoylake, Merseyside, in 1910.

A spokesman said: "Generally speaking there's been quite a bit of cloud, but if the sun peeps through the clouds in early afternoon, it could just push the temperature up to 16C or something like that."

Druid, King Arthur Pendragon said: "I think we got about 5,000 people in the summer and we were nearly that and it is winter. It has been a very mild December but throughout the night it was rainy and windy which, in turn, might have put some people off.

"I think a lot of people are looking to nature because of global warming and the environment. They are turning to Earth-bound religions.The winter is a time of renewal and hope.

"I have been going (to Stonehenge) for 30-odd years. It is always very special."

The winter solstice is the annual event which marks the point where the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun.

As a result of the north of Earth leaning away from the Sun, Tuesday will see the fewest hours of sunlight in one day.

The exact moment of this year's solstice was at 4.49am GMT.

A spokesman for Historic England said people travel to Stonehenge on the winter solstice because of the monument's alignment with the sun on the winter solstice, and added that it is believed the solstice was of huge importance to Stonehenge's prehistoric users.

The sun sets between the trilithon at the site, which is where two vertical pillars stand next to each other, supporting a horizontal stone on top.

"One of the most important and well-known features of Stonehenge is its alignment on the midwinter sunset-midsummer sunrise solstitial axis," the spokesman said.

"The midwinter sun sets between the two upright stones of the great trilithon. We do not know which solstice was more important to the users of Stonehenge, but several pieces of evidence suggest that midwinter was very important.

"Analysis of pig bones at nearby Durrington Walls suggests that feasting was happening here particularly at midwinter."

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

This intrepid group visited Stonehenge and Avebury before welcoming the sun at Glastonbury Tor. Picture: siannasherman