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Britain will have fewer days of 'extreme cold' and will enjoy milder winters as a direct result of climate change, according to a new study.

The new research is set to cool growing fears that the Northern Hemisphere could be gripped by more severe winters throughout the next century due to the Arctic warming up.

The study, conducted by Dr James Screen, a mathematics research fellow at the University of Exeter, looked at the Arctic amplification phenomenon, which shows a faster rate of warming in the Arctic compared to the South Pole.

Extreme cold days and snowy scenes such as this in Epsom, Surrey, could become few and far between due to climate change, according to a new study

This has been linked to a spike in the number of severe cold spells in recent years over Europe and North America.

However, Dr Screen examined detailed climate records to show that autumn and winter temperatures have been consistent because northerly winds and the cold days that come with them are warming more rapidly than southerly winds and the resulting warm days.

He explained: 'Autumn and winter days are becoming warmer on average, and less variable from day-to-day.

'Cold days tend to occur when the wind is blowing from the north, bringing Arctic air south into the mid-latitudes.

Winter 2014 saw above average temperatures but record amounts of rainfall and heavy winds, which resulted in coastal flooding such as here in Saltcoats in Scotland

'Because the Arctic air is warming so rapidly these cold days are now less cold than they were in the past.'

The new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, also showed that the changes in climate will continue into the future, with projected future decreases in temperature variability in all seasons, except summer.

The research was financially supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council.

Persistent heavy rainfall made it the wettest winter on record in most parts of the UK

According to the Met Office, temperatures in winter earlier this year were well above the long-term average with a mean winter temperature of 5.2 degrees with a notable absence of frosts.

However, they add that winter 2014 was an exceptionally stormy season, with at least 12 major winter storms affecting the UK in two separate spells.

Persistent heavy rainfall also made it the wettest winter on record in England, Scotland and Wales and the second wettest in Northern Ireland.

There was major flooding in the Somerset Levels, which left homes, farms, roads and businesses submerged in several feet of floodwater for almost a month.