[Day Light Savings Time] Time Falls Back By An Hour On Sunday! Ever Wondered Why?

Ever been caught up by the clocks going forward or back... or even wondered why we do it?

As we start to switch our headlights on for the drive home from work our thoughts turn to the twice-yearly ritual of altering our clock in the spring or autumn.

But if you've ever wondered what's behind this tradition, here are a few facts:

British Summer Time (BST) ends on the last Sunday in October and this means you will need to put the clocks back by one hour this Sunday at 4am.

At that point, 4am goes back to being 3am and you will get an extra hour in bed on Sunday.

It takes the UK back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

But the change means that you will notice it get darker earlier in the evenings. The upside is that it's lighter in the mornings.

It's thought to be organised for a Sunday so fewer workers get a ticking off for arriving at work late.

Most of our modern devices, such as mobiles or tablets should update automatically.

But the rationale behind the change is to give us extra daylight when we need it most.

First proposed by William Willett in 1907, British Summer Time - or Daylight Saving Time - was devised to prevent us wasting morning daylight in the summer.

The difference between daylight hours varies hugely throughout the year - from more than 16 hours on the longest day in June to just over seven hours in December.

Mr Willett proposed in a pamphlet to change the nation's clocks - spending the rest of his life trying to convince people his grand plan would work.

Thus, on May 21, 1916 the scheme was born.

But, fear not, it won't feel wintry for ever.

Come next March normality will be restored. The clocks will go forward again on the last Sunday on March at 1am.

And don’t forget…. The clocks go back this Sunday…

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