When do the clocks change – and why do they go forward?

British summer time officially starts at 1am on Sunday, when the clocks go forward an hour

It is that time of year again, the ritual of trying to work out which of your electronic gadgets automatically adjusts for clock changes, and which do not. British summer time (BST) officially starts at 1am on Sunday 29 March, when the clocks go forward an hour to 2am.

With the country in lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, it will be one of the strangest clock changes in living memory. With time spent outside being limited, very few people will be able to take advantage of the extended sunlight hours, and any plans for long summer evenings lounging around outside socialising look like they will have to be postponed to next year.