Snow expected across much of Britain

Most parts of England and Wales are expected to see heavy snow later, bringing disruption to roads and rail.

Forecasters say 5-10cm (up to 4in) will fall in central, eastern and south-east England, including London, with the heaviest falls expected after dusk.

The Met Office has issued more than a dozen severe weather warnings, including for parts of Scotland.

Race meetings at Sandown Park and Wetherby and several Football League matches have already been cancelled.

The Met Office has issued amber "be prepared" snow warnings for Yorkshire and Humber, north-west England, west and east Midlands, eastern England, south-west England, and London and south-east England.

Yellow "be aware" warnings were issued for north-east England, Wales, the Highlands, Grampian, central Scotland, Tayside and Fife, south-west Scotland, and the Lothian Borders. Northern Ireland was not affected.

BBC Weather forecaster Laura Gilchrist said the snow would represent the most significant falls so far this winter.

"There is potential for transport disruption," she said.

"Before hitting the roads you should be prepared. Take shovels, warm clothes and fully charged phones. If you're travelling by rail, check the websites first."

Salt stocks

She said a band of wet weather would move towards the east and south-east of England throughout the day, falling as snow when it hits cold air.

Highland areas of Scotland, most of England - apart from Devon and Cornwall - and most of inland Wales are expected to be affected.

Our forecaster said the highest chance of disruption would be in central and eastern England and the South East in the late afternoon and night.

As the rain cleared away, ice would become an added danger on the roads, she added.

February, traditionally the coldest month of winter, has seen daytime temperatures plunge four or five degrees lower than average over the past few days.

The cold conditions are likely to continue into the early part of next week.

The Local Government Association said motorists were being advised to check the latest weather and gritting updates on council websites and "gritter Twitter" feeds.

British Gas said its engineers were on stand-by in all-weather 4x4s, and the Department for Transport said Britain's salt stocks stood at more than 2.4 million tonnes - a million more than last year.

The charity Age UK said it was a dangerous time for older people with low temperatures raising blood pressure, which put people at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes as well as the risk of flu.

Saturday's League One football matches at Bournemouth, Bury, Colchester, Notts County, Oldham and Preston have all been postponed.

Aldershot, Cheltenham, Gillingham, Morecambe, Oxford, Rotherham and Shrewsbury in League Two are also off.

Several other games face pitch inspections on Saturday morning.

The weather warnings in Britain follow a big freeze across many parts of Europe, where temperatures have fallen as low as -30C in some parts, and scores of people have died, including more than 100 in Ukraine.

Freezing weather has led to a shortage of vital Russian gas supplies to several countries, and Italy has seen its coldest week for 27 years.

- BBC