Snow set to blanket icy Britain

Feb 1 2009

An army of snow ploughs and gritters were on standby as the UK prepares to be engulfed by "significant and disruptive" snowfall.

Forecasters are predicting that up to 20 centimetres may fall in some areas as icy winds and heavy snow rolls in from the freezing wastes of Russia.

The south east of England and the Pennines are expected to bear the brunt of the weather but much of the UK will see heavy snow over the next 48 hours.

The morning and evening rush hours are expected to be disrupted with snow causing problems on the transport network.

The Met Office have issued an extreme weather warning for London and the south east of England as the worst of the weather breaks.

Temperatures plummeted steadily as the freezing easterly winds that herald the snow increased.

Snow flurries erupted with increasing regularity throughout the day and parts of Kent were blanketed with a light coating of snow.

The London-bound M20 in the county was closed between junction nine at the Ashford turn-off and junction eight at the Leeds Castle turn-off because of treacherous conditions.

Kent Police said several minor collisions had been reported after snow froze on the road but no injuries have been reported.

Even the Queen could not escape the wintry conditions and was forced to keep the snow at bay with an umbrella as she attended church near the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.