SPENT the day sneezing with your eyes streaming?

Then it will probably come as no surprise that Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich all fall within the highest band of pollen levels across the UK.

One in five people in the UK suffer from hayfever with Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich falling into the area of 'Very high' average UK pollen levels. 

A Met Office spokesman said: "We manage the only pollen count monitoring network in the UK using information from our network, our weather data and expertise from organisations such as the National Pollen and Aerobiological Unit and PollenUK to produce forecasts that help support allergy and hay fever sufferers through the most difficult time of the year.

"The pollen count season is normally March to August. However, it can start as early as January and end as late as November."

The pollen season separates into three main sections:

Tree pollen - late March to mid-May.

Grass pollen - mid-May to July.

Weed pollen - end of June to September

The spokesman added: "Our forecast is based on this detailed breakdown of the different types of pollen and their peak times within a season."

April 25 to 29 is National Allergy Awareness Week and Sleepypeople.com say that allergies could disrupt sleep.

A spokesman from Sleepy People said: "If you do find that you suffer from a pollen allergy or allergies such as dust mites, this doesn’t have to mean that your sleep should be disrupted during allergy season.

"By simply replacing pillows, duvets, mattress topers, mattresses and general bedding sheets, this can help to keep your allergies at bay during the night to help ensure that you are receiving your full quota of sleep."

The pollen calendar below shows an average pattern of release of the main allergenic pollen in the UK.

The severity and timing of the pollen seasons will differ from year-to-year depending on the weather, biological factors and geographical location.

Pollen in the UKSource: metoffice.gov.uk