UK weather and travel - as it happened: Flight cancellations and lorry crashes cause misery as airports warn of more disruption

'Dangerous conditions' warning as snow and ice hit the UK

Motorists faced dangerous conditions and air travellers suffered disruption to flights after snow and ice struck parts of Britain.

Thousands of people were left without power overnight, and the Met Office warned of the risk of slips and falls on icy surfaces.

The southbound carriageway on the M1 was closed after a lorry crashed near Lutterworth, while another jack-knifed on the M5 near Gloucestershire in heavy snow.

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Birmingham Airport warned passengers flights could be affected by snow while Stansted Airport warned passengers that delays and cancellations were likely to continue as a result of the weather.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for ice across Northern Ireland, large parts of Scotland and the north-east coast of England.

A yellow warning over snow and rain was also triggered for the Midlands, London and the South East, the North West, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber. It will remain in place until 11am on Wednesday.

Key Points

• M1 closed southbound at junction 19 after lorry crash
• Environment Agency issues 15 flood warnings across Britain
• Second crash on M1 triggers fresh lane closures
• More than 30 British Airways flights in and out of Heathrow Airport cancelled
• Dozens of flights cancelled at airports across Britain

[27 December 2017 15:16 · Adam Withnall]

A look at the M25 congestion map is showing a lot of red. For those not in the know, red = very congested.

[27 December 2017 15:44 · Adam Withnall]

The RAC says it saw a 15-20 per cent spike in call-outs compared with this time last year, including 12 relating to a pothole causing significant damage to vehicles on a section of the M25 around London.

[27 December 2017 15:59 · Adam Withnall]

RAC spokesman Pete Williams said the company expected to attend more than 9,000 breakdowns by the end of the day.

"Our patrols are rescuing members who have run into difficulty in snow and ice which is causing treacherous driving conditions resulting in some minor accidents," he said.

"We are also seeing a significant increase in pothole related damage, so punctures, wheel damage, steering and suspension problems.

"The toxic combination of high water levels, ice and snow is causing many road surfaces to crumble causing potholes to open up.

"RAC patrols attended a dozen vehicles alone on the M25 where a large pothole opened up causing a punctures and wheel damage and big delays for many motorists.

"Flat and exhausted batteries are another major cause of breakdown or simply non-start for many as the icy and damp conditions play have with vehicles electrics.

"Many drivers who haven't used their car for several days over Christmas are finding that it doesn't have the charge to turn over the engine and they are left stuck on the drive or in the street.

"With more snow forecast and plummeting temperatures we expect the hazardous driving conditions will get worse tonight."

[27 December 2017 17:24 · Kristin Hugo]

The Met Office says tomorrow (Thursday) is likely to be drier and slightly warmer, although temperatures are unlikely to rise above 5C in much of the country.

[27 December 2017 18:48 · Kristin Hugo]

Stansted Airport has warned passengers that delays and cancellations are likely to continue as a result of the weather. People whose flight has been cancelled are asked to avoid travelling to the airport.