UK weather live: Travel updates as snow and ice cause school closures, cancellations at Heathrow and Gatwick and treacherous road conditions

Temperatures drop as low as -12C in Chillingham Barns, Northumberland

UK becomes a winter wonderland as snow falls

Freezing temperatures, ice and snow have affected travel across the UK, with disruption to roads, railways and airports.

Motorists are being warned of havoc on the roads on Monday as snow turns into ice following plummeting temperatures over the weekend, which saw the mercury drop as low as -12C in Northumberland.

National Rail has said the poor conditions have affected travel across England and Wales, with Virgin Trains, Great Western and CrossCountry services all affected.

Hundreds of schools are due to close and up to 50,000 passengers have been left stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport after British Airways experienced problems de-icing a backlog of planes.

Keep up to date with the latest information on our live blog.

Key Points

8.15am: Hundreds of schools shut and drivers warned of chaos as cold snap set to hit -15C

[11 December 2017 20:23 · Adam Withnall]

People still without power in Oxfordshire

As 6pm today there are 200 homes still without power in Oxfordshire after SSE suffered a blackout. 

It said it had already restored power to over 57,000 customers since the snow began yesterday and was working to help those remaining in the dark this evening. 

In a statement, the company said heavy snow and winds of up to 70mph caused damage to its overhead power lines in Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and parts of Berkshire. 

In the mean time, it said welfare vans serving free hot food and drink were currently being held in the following locations: Welfare vans, serving free hot food and drinks, are currently in the following locations:  

Yanworth Village, Opposite Yanworth Farm, GL54 3LQ

White Hart pub, Wytham, OX2 8QA

Ascott Village shops, OX7 6FY

The George Pub car park, GL7 4HN

Thame Road, Bicester, OX25 1TE

[11 December 2017 21:07 · Adam Withnall]

[11 December 2017 23:03 · Adam Withnall]

Freezing conditions are expected to continue

Forecasters are now warning it could be the coldest night of the year in some places as could see temperatures as low as -15C.

Yellow Met Office warnings have been issued for Wales, Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland, the Midlands, London and the south east of England.  

The weather service has also warned that there will be further disruption affecting flights, trains and ferries. 

[12 December 2017 00:13 · Adam Withnall]

This is the end of The Independent snow coverage. Check back tomorrow morning for more coverage.