UK weather latest: Freezing spell bites with wintry showers, hail and snow forecast as temperatures hit -4C

Public Health England warning of prolonged spell of cold weather

Travellers had their plans thrown into chaos this morning after many parts of the country were covered in ice – following freezing temperatures overnight which dropped to below -6c.

Rail chiefs were forced to cancel some services because of the conditions, which in some cases left trains frozen to the tracks in locations in the south of the country.

Commuters also faced delays of up to 90 minutes on some lines because of the disruption caused by the icy weather.

It came as the Met Office issued a warning overnight for ice across London, the south east and south west of England, warning of slips and falls on untreated roads and pavements.

South Western Railway said its services between Guildford and Havant and Basingstoke and Eastleigh were disrupted because of ice on conductor rails.

Trains were stuck at some locations, blocking the lines, leading to rail replacement buses being laid on.

Passengers were told that services were subject to delays of up to 90 minutes, cancellation and alteration at short notice.

The delays came on top of disruption to SWR services to and from London Waterloo this weekend because of engineering work.

National Rail this morning at just after 8am announced it had been forced to suspend trains on a section of the Southern service due to the icy weather.

It said in a tweet: “You are strongly advised not to travel between Lewes and Hasting this morning. Services between these stations have been suspended due to extremely icy conditions."

More ice could be possible tomorrow morning and again disrupt travel plans as forecaster predicted that temperatures could plummet as low as -4c from Saturday night into Sunday morning.

The chaos commuters faced this morning came after freezing weather overnight, with the Met Office saying they recorded a national low of -6.3c in Topcliffe in Yorkshire.

The Arctic like conditions overnight also saw up to 3cm of snow fall in higher parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.

The dramatic change at the tail end of the autumn came as Public Health England warned a prolonged spell of cold weather was likely.

Met Office forecaster Steven Keats told The Independent: “Temperatures today will be around 3c to 7c but it will feel bitterly cold.

“There is a risk of snow anywhere really but likely in the mountain areas in Scotland and also in South Wales and in the Moors, with a bit of sleet in parts of the Midlands.

“More an issue really is hail that is coming down in wintry showers.

“It’s worth mentioning too there is some good sunny weather, with good visibility.

“Overnight it is trickier to gauge because of wind but temperatures of minus 3c and 4c are possible in parts.”

Figures earlier this week showed there were more than 34,000 “excess deaths” across England and Wales over the last winter period, the second highest level in eight years.

The Office for National Statistics said the rise was likely to be due to a “predominant strain of flu prevalent during the 2016 to 2017 winter”.