BING Crosby famously dreamt of it – but the odds on a white Christmas for Petersfield are drifting away, as mild and wet weather keeps coming.

Eric Piper, of Rogate, records local weather and said: “There’s no doubt it is milder than normal. There are roses and primroses out in the garden. A white Christmas? Probably just wishful thinking I’m afraid.”

Local weather recorder Richard Marks of Buriton, said: “It’s definitely milder, I mowed my lawn in the first week of December.

“A white Christmas? “Very unlikely I would say.”

A Met Office spokesman said: “Traditionally we used the Met Office in London to define a White Christmas.

“But with the increase in betting on where will see a White Christmas we now include sites such as Buckingham Palace, Belfast, Edinburgh Castle, Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

“And the definition now is for one snowflake to fall in the 24 hours of Christmas Day somewhere in the UK.”

And as the prospect of snow diminishes, bookies odds are falling.

The shortest price for a white Christmas is Aberdeen, eased from 2/1 to 5/2, while the odds on snow in London and across the South East have drifted to 5/1 from 4/1.

“Snow on Christmas Day looks unlikely,” admitted Joe Crilly of bookmakers William Hill.