Britons warned of Monday commuter misery as big freeze returns to Britain bringing snow and icy conditions

Large parts of the England and Scotland could see traffic disruption on Monday morning

Freezing temperatures and icy conditions could disrupt travel over the coming days (PA; Reuters)

Snow began falling in parts of southern England last night, prompting fears of ice and disruption in the Monday morning rush hour.

There was expected to be a covering of up to six cms in some areas.

Paul Mott, a senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "We are starting to see some snow in the south Midlands and over the hills of Surrey.

"There was snow earlier today over parts of Scotland and north-west England, mostly over the hills.

"We expect to see snow over northern parts of southern England, north of London, up towards the Midlands, and North Wales, and there are likely to be 2cm-5cm of snow in places overnight."

The falls are expected to stop by tomorrow morning, but the accumulations could still cause disruption for commuters.

More light flurries are predicted for tomorrow and Tuesday, after which the week is expected to turn milder.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded in America after flights to Britain were grounded when a massive snowstorm hit the US east coast.

It dumped more than 3ft of snow from Massachusetts to New Jersey, while hurricane-force winds battered the eastern states and up into Canada, killing at least eight people.

Heathrow Airport said 10 inbound flights - all from New York and Boston - were cancelled yesterday, as was one outbound flight, to Washington.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Air Canada were all forced to cancel flights today, Heathrow said.

Passengers were advised to check if their flights are affected with their airlines.

PA