Big freeze bites as weekend snow clears

Freezing temperatures will continue to grip the UK as the snowy cover of the weekend begins to clear.

Clear skies and dry weather will ensure that the east of the country will continue feeling the winter bite even after most of the snow has melted.

Despite the departure of the snow, forecasters say ice in the North could make travelling more difficult than usual.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for ice in north-west and north-east England, Yorkshire and large sections of southern Scotland. It also issued snow warnings for the Strathclyde and the central, Tayside and Fife area.

In England, there is a small chance of snowfall around Birmingham and Leicester, as well as Lincolnshire and Humberside, a spokesman added.

Temperatures were expected to hover around zero in the North, Yorkshire and the Midlands overnight and into Monday.

The capital will hover a few degrees above freezing, but it and the rest of the South East is unlikely to get much above five degrees over the next day.

In the West, however, sleet and rain showers will keep temperatures markedly higher than the other half of the country.

In Wales, Northern Ireland and the South West, temperatures overnight could reach up to 7C.

It follows a white winter weekend which saw large swathes of the country covered in snow.

Images from around the UK showed snowmen being built and sledges being manned as people made the most of the weather.