ROSSENDALE residents who struggled with the weather during the recent deep freeze are being advised to keep an eye on budding meteorologist Matt Hugo's website.

Matt, from Rossendale, is an environmental science student at Manchester and hopes to become a meteorologist in about two years. His website is mainly aimed directly at the Rossendale Valley but also covers surrounding locations.

It includes up-to-date forecasts and weather warnings, but Matt says the Valley is generally a difficult area for forecasting snowfall.

He said: "The site has been enjoying up to 100 hits per day and, especially when the weather is like it has been recently, I have received numerous e-mails from local people thanking me for a good forecast. Following the recent cold spell I have even had a couple of e-mails actually suggesting that the council should take notice of my 'local' forecasts just for an extra comparison to the information that is available from the Met Office source."

Matt is currently studying for a honours degree, but until he qualifys as a meteorologist, he will continue to provide the weather for the Valley on www.rossendale-weather.co.uk