Mercury plunges as UK could see coldest night in nearly a decade

Temperatures have been falling across the country amid forecasts of what could be the coldest night in almost a decade.

The mercury had plunged to minus 11.7C (11F) at Braemar in the Scottish Highlands just before midnight, while most of the UK had dipped below freezing.

Forecasters said there was the potential for a low of minus 16C (3.2F) to be seen in eastern Scotland overnight following a blast of cold weather than brought severe disruption to large parts of the country.

Several weather warnings have been issued for Sunday and Monday mornings, although some respite is expected with milder conditions moving in at the start of the week.

Icy stretches will continue to be a hazard in parts of southern England and East Anglia into Sunday morning and a yellow warning is in place until 11am.

Meanwhile there is a warning in place for snow and ice for a swathe of western Scotland reaching from Inverness in the north to the outskirts of Glasgow in the south.

"Much of the UK's dry, but across the north-west and west of Scotland there are some snow showers," Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said.

"There is a weather warning that will be in place from 7am onward as that band pushes eastwards.

"It will be a cold, frosty start for many and then there is the risk of some more rain, sleet and snow coming into western Scotland by the end of the night into Monday morning."