Red sky in the morning? It's autumn dawning

The autumn sun rises over Thirsk in North Yorkshire, as cold winds, frost and even some snow are set to hit Britain this week, signalling the end of the October heatwave.

The mercury peaked at an unseasonably high 18.3C (64.94F) in Gravesend, Kent, yesterday but temperatures are set to drop in the coming days.

Andy Ratcliffe, a forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "A cold front will start across Scotland and Northern Ireland tomorrow, giving some heavy outbursts of rain, which will turn to snow over the mountains in Scotland.

"It's going to be pretty cold across the UK on Wednesday night, with widespread ground frost expected and perhaps air frost in places too."