UK weather: Heavy snow causes UK-wide disruption

Heavy snowfall is hitting parts of the UK, causing road and rail disruption.

Police say driving conditions are "treacherous" in places as a band of wintry weather and very low temperatures sweeps westwards.

Hundreds of trains are cancelled, many schools are shut and forecasters say some rural communities may be cut off.

Kent, Surrey, Suffolk and Sussex are among the worst-hit counties, seeing up to 10cm of snow, while north-east England has received up to 8cm (3in).

Amber Met Office weather warnings are in place in those areas, meaning there is a possible risk to life and property.

A less severe yellow warning applies to a much wider area, covering much of Scotland, England and Wales.

In Lincolnshire, police helped 45 schoolchildren from their bus after it collided with a car and left the road. None of the pupils were injured, but the force said conditions were "particularly hazardous".

The UK is experiencing what's expected to be the coldest week of the winter, with snow moving west during Tuesday, increasingly spreading into Scotland and the Midlands later in the day.

Temperatures dropped well below freezing overnight, with Northern Ireland, south west England and East Anglia logging figures as low as -6C. Altnaharra in the Highlands recorded -8.5C.

By Wednesday night, more than 20cm of snow could have accumulated in some parts of Scotland, eastern England and Northern Ireland. Further bad weather is also forecast into Thursday.

On Wednesday and Thursday it is going to feel bitterly cold with a lot of areas seeing maximum temperatures below freezing.

"It will feel more like -10C or -14C in some parts and there will be heavy snow showers in the East, particularly in north-east Britain."

Among the disruption on Tuesday:

• Rail journeys have been badly affected, with Southeastern cancelling more than 100 services between Kent and London. Southern said it was running a reduced service, and the Gatwick Express is also disrupted
• In East Anglia, Great Northern and Greater Anglia services are also affected, with a reduced service being run on many lines. In Essex, the Stansted Express, Tfl rail and c2c services are running a reduced timetable
• Ice and snow on the roads has made driving conditions "treacherous" in some areas, according to police, with cars and lorries becoming stranded
• The M20 in Kent is gridlocked due to the weather, while Lincolnshire Police said officers had been called out to 20 collisions since 05:45 GMT - many more than on a typical day
• British Airways cancelled 60 short-haul flights to and from Heathrow in preparation for the poor weather
• Most other airports remain unaffected, but Liverpool John Lennon Airport's single runway was briefly shut for a time due to snow
• Chester Zoo is closed due to the cold - a spokesperson said the animals' welfare was "one of our top priorities"

Some passengers have complained at the disruption to their journeys, but Greater Anglia's Juliette Maxam said all railway staff were working really hard to keep trains running in the face of "extreme weather".

"We've got people with de-icers, de-icing the doors, and we've got special socks fitted to stop ice from getting in the horn, because... if the horns aren't working they can't go as fast," she added.