BBQs at the ready for the last weekend of summer

On Saturday the mercury could soar for the last time this year, leaving Britain basking in temperatures of 25C.

This unexpected heatwave would mean parts of the UK will experience glorious sunshine and better weather than Barcelona and Venice, ahead of the autumn equinox which officially brings a close to the summer season on Monday.

With bargains to be had on outdoor furniture, BBQs and end of summer lines in the George at Asda sale, there really is no better time to get outdoors and make the most of the last few days of summer.

The unseasonably warm weather, further mark-downs and 1000s of in-store rollbacks gave hot weather clothing categories a boost on Friday. Sales of shorts and sandals were up by more than 300% on the year, as shoppers bagged a late summer George sale bargain.

To help weekend BBQs go with a bang, selected packs of Extra Special sausages are 2 for £4 and packs of Extra Special burgers start from £2.50. There are plenty of boozy bargains to be had too, including Canti Prosecco down to £7 from £10, £8 off 1l of Barcardi White Rum now at £16 and Whitley Neill Pink Grapefruit gin on rollback at £20 from £25. Cool savings can also be had on Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream, down from £4.50 to £3.

It isn’t just meat eaters who can expect to bite into a last taste of summer this weekend. Vegans and vegetarians are covered too, with some great rollbacks to be had on meat-free alternatives for an inclusive celebration.

And if you don’t have a BBQ, there are some great deals to be had in the George home clearance, such as the Uniflame 82cm Classic American Grill which has £99.65 off, making it a steal at £129.35.

Although autumn is nearly upon us it’s no excuse to avoid protect yourself whilst soaking up the late summer sun. Asda is encouraging sun lovers to stay protected and stock up on sun cream this weekend, with the retailer’s 5 star UVA rated own-brand sun protection starts at just £2.39, so there really isn’t any reason not to slap on the factor 50.

Sizzling sales predictions include:

Asda predicts ice-cream sales will see an ice-cool lift of 15%

Wines and Beers should see a boozy boost of around 20% as customers celebrate the last weekend of summer.

Brits can’t resist a banger, with Asda predicting it will sell enough extra burgers and bangers to cover 6 football pitches this Saturday alone.

Picnic items will see a sizzling sales lift of 21% this weekend, as customers get outdoors with the family for a picnic and make the most of the sunshine

But it seems that even though we’ve not seen the last of summer, some shoppers are already firmly focused on colder weather, with the retailer seeing more than 22,000 searches on its George.com website for ‘Christmas’.