By Arthur Martin, Tom Kelly and Scott Warren

Teresa Dickson clearing the snow from a vehicle on Christmas day morning in Barnard Castle, County Durham, as many parts of the UK woke up to a white Christmas


Father-of-two collapses and dies while shovelling snow from under his car in Cumbria
Man dies after slipping at railway station in Edinburgh while carrying toddler
Driver fighting for life following a multi-vehicle accident in north Lincolnshire
Man found dead in frozen car outside his home in Leeds
Many families woke to a white Christmas today as some parts of Britain were blanketed in fresh snow.

In Scotland much of the north east of the country and the central belt were hit with more bad weather.

Temperatures once again fell to minus 15C in the Highlands while it hit minus 5C in Glasgow but and zero in Edinburgh.
And in County Durham in the north-east of England much of the county was blanketed in another layer of thick snow.

The severe weather of the past week has caused chaos on the roads, as well as disrupting flights and rail travel.

Much of the rest of the UK will escape snow today, but will be hit by ice and fog instead making travel just as treacherous.

Many people have decided to stay at home rather than making the usual Christmas journeys.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, said it would therefore be interesting to see whether people opted to travel on Christmas Day itself.

He said: 'The big question has to be whether the journeys that haven't happened are shopping and local ones or the big, long distance Christmas getaways.

'They could all be going today, because it looks as though they haven't been yet.'

Drivers have been warned not to go out on treacherous roads, flights have been cancelled and train services badly disrupted by the cold.

Bookies look set to avoid a monster payout, but many have nonetheless slashed odds of snowfall in southern England on Christmas Day.


Members of Serpentine Swimming Club prepare for their annual Christmas Swim in the Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park, London today


The swimmers plunge into the icy water as they indulge in their annual tradition


South of a line from north Wales to Lincolnshire, the chances of flakes falling tomorrow are 'slim to nil', said Metrogroup forecaster Brendan Jones.

The latest forecasts have been welcomed by bookmakers William Hill, which received 15,000 bets for a white Christmas in London.

Hill's odds on a white Christmas there are now 2/1. Aberdeen is favourite to see snow at 5/6.

Spokesman Rupert Adams said: 'We have potentially dodged a monster payout but we are still going to be watching Buckingham Palace like a hawk, as just a flake or two will decide whether we are going to have a festive season or not.'

Other Hills odds are 11/10 Glasgow and Edinburgh, 13/8 Newcastle, Leeds and York, 7/4 Liverpool, Manchester and Lincoln; 2/1 Oxford, Norwich and Nottinghamshire, 9/4 Birmingham, Cambridge, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Exeter and Dublin.

Ladbrokes spokesman David Williams said: 'We will be the only people except possibly for the AA who will be hoping that snow doesn't fall on Christmas Day.'

While the deciding factor on whether London had a white Christmas was traditionally snowfall on the roof of the London Weather Centre, a Met Office spokeswoman said it was using Buckingham Palace this year for William Hill, with just one flake required to fall for those who bet on a white Christmas to collect.


Keith Hollis flies his kite in the snow whilst high in the hills of the Carron Valley,Central Scotland yesterday


Thomas (4) and Alex Kingston (3), delivering presents in the snow on Christmas day morning in Hurworth, County Durham


At least 19 people have now died in the big freeze.

In Leeds, a man may have lain dead in his frozen-up car outside his home for 24 hours before being discovered.

The man, believed to be aged in his 60s, was only discovered when his brother called to visit him on Wednesday afternoon.

The brother arrived at the address in Beeston, Leeds, shortly before 3pm and discovered a red Peugeot car parked outside. Peering through the heavily frosted window he saw what he suspected was a man slumped inside the vehicle and alerted the police.

In Kirkby-in-Furness, Cumbria, a father-of-two collapsed and died while shovelling snow from his driveway.

Dave English, 53, suffered a suspected heart attack when he was clearing snow to park his car.

Devastated wife Sally, 52, found her engineer husband of 32 years collapsed in the snow outside their home.

He was taken to Furness General Hospital but was pronounced dead after the incident on Monday night.

The couple have two children, Daniel, 30, and Emma Caine, 28.

In Edinburgh, a man died after slipping in a railway station while carrying a toddler.

The 47-year-old had been holding the two-year-old girl when he hit his head at the city's Waverley station.

Meanwhile, a driver was in a critical condition today following a multi-vehicle accident on the A180 between Scunthorpe and Grimsby in North Lincolnshire.

A police spokesman said a black Citroen C2 and a blue Honda Odyssey were parked in a lay-by at the side of the eastbound carriageway following a minor collision when a silver Vauxhall Zafira crashed into the Citroen.


A group of British backpackers sit on the hill overlooking Bondi Beach in Sydney today


He said the Zafira pushed the Citroen clear of the lay-by into the driver of the Honda, causing him serious injuries.

Thick fog, snow and black ice are expected to hit major roads again today.

The Christmas getaway is normally one of the busiest times of the year, but the millions hoping to hit the road today are being warned: You'd be dicing with death.

Thousands of would-be air passengers are stranded today as airports from Gatwick to Edinburgh struggle to cope with the weather.

Hampshire Police have advised motorists not to go out unless their journey is absolutely essential. After a string of crashes, Chief Superintendent Matthew Greening said: 'It seems a lot of people were not really aware of the dangerous conditions until they got out.'

The Highways Agency, responsible for gritting motorways and major trunk roads, said it was closely monitoring conditions with continuous salt treatment on high-risk routes.

People hoping to travel by train are being warned about long delays in many areas. The Southeastern train company was unable to run trains on some of its routes yesterday and could not provide a bus replacement service because of poor road conditions.

Travellers were already facing disruption over the holiday period from planned engineering works by Network Rail lasting until the New Year.

The continuing cold forced the budget airline easyJet, which cancelled 150 flights on Monday, to cancel another 50 yesterday from airports across the UK.

BA cancelled several flights to European cities including Paris, Zurich, Stockholm, Brussels and Amsterdam. Some passengers at Heathrow have spent more than 48 hours trying to get to their Christmas destinations.


Motorway packed with travellers trying to make a Christmas getaway while thousands pack Oxfford Street yesterday looking for last minute presents


Pensioners Terry and Pat Palmer, from Woking in Surrey, were supposed to go to Geneva on an easyjet flight from Gatwick on Tuesday morning. Mr Palmer, 68, said: 'When we got there we found it was cancelled, even though it didn't say so online before we left.

'Easyjet didn't give us an explanation, they just told us to get our money back and make our own alternative arrangements. We were put on a Heathrow flight by BA to Geneva but that was also cancelled this morning.' His 67-year-old wife added: 'We are spending Christmas with our children and grandchildren in Geneva.

'Our family from Stoke have made it from East Midlands Airport - so everyone is waiting on us. If we don't get there it would totally ruin Christmas for all of us.'
Weathermen say the freeze is likely to end tomorrow in the south of England but persist until Boxing Day in the north.

A Met Office spokesman said a white Christmas was likely for most of Scotland, but there was not likely to be any snowfall until well into the evening, after a dry and sunny day.

'The weather from the west will be preceded by snow, and in many parts will consist solely of snow, but not until well after dark,' he said.


source: dailymail