Cold air brings snowfalls to parts of the UK

Chilly air brought snow to parts of the country today - days after the Premier League ended and weeks after the cricket season began.

Cold northerly winds brought in wintry showers to higher ground, including the Pennines, Shropshire, parts of Wales and Scotland.

Meteorologist Chris Burton said the snow was late but not unheard of this far into spring and expected warmer temperatures for some by the weekend.

The forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "It is late to snow and it has happened because northerly winds brought colder air down from the Arctic and Scandinavia.

"We have showers that can turn wintry on higher ground.

"The next few days are looking chilly but there are signs that the weekend will start to warm up towards the average. We might see temperatures of 17C in the South East on Sunday."

University lecturer Neil Farrington was walking his dogs in Castleside, near Consett, County Durham, when the snow fell this morning.

The 41-year-old father-of-three said: "It lasted for 20 minutes and it came down quite heavily with big flakes.

"It was quite a sight to behold, then it turned to rain and the snow on the ground disappeared.

"My oldest son was supposed to be playing cricket tonight so he was not best pleased.

"Getting snow after the FA Cup Final feels strange."

PA