Coldest December for 120 years

The past month was Britain's coldest December for 120 years, meteorologists said yesterday.

It was also the chilliest individual calendar month since February 1986, according to weather historian Philip Eden, with temperatures dropping as low as -21.1C in the Scottish Highlands.

The benchmark Central England Temperature plunged to an average of -0.6C over the month, the lowest figure for December since 1890, according to MeteoGroup UK. There were 10 nights when the temperature fell below -18C somewhere in the UK. However, it was drier and sunnier than usual.