Heathrow Cancels Flights As Snow Moves In

Hundreds of flights from Heathrow and a string of sporting events have been cancelled, as the first of what is predicted to be heavy snow begins to fall across the country.

Around a third of Sunday's flights have already been cancelled from the west London airport amid forecasts of up to 15cm of snow, reduced visibility and the possibility of freezing fog.

A revised flight schedule will appear on the Heathrow website at around 6pm, but the airport anticipates more than 70% of passengers will still be able to travel.

Portsmouth's home match against Hull City has been cancelled due to a frozen pitch, as well as several matches in the lower leagues.

Racing has also been hit, with meetings at Ffos Las, Sandown and Wetherby cancelled over the past two days.

Meanwhile the AA said it had been called out to more than 4,300 breakdowns on Saturday morning and expected it to reach up to 16,000 by the end of the day - almost double a usual Saturday.

Leicestershire-based developer Ben Marsh has also set up an online interactive map, encouraging Twitter users to tweet news and pictures of snow in their area using the hashtag #uksnow.

By Saturday afternoon, snow had hit parts of the Midlands, Manchester, South Wales and the south east.

Some regions - including Cumbria, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, North Yorkshire, the Peak District and the Midlands - are expected to see a 15cm dumping of snow, but many regions will get between 5cm and 10cm.

Wales and the South West, along with parts of western Scotland, will mostly see rain.

Temperatures have also fallen to below the average for the time of year, with the mercury dropping to minus 12.4C in South Newington, Oxfordshire on Friday night - the lowest recorded temperature this season.

The Met Office issued its first country-wide serious cold weather alert of the winter amid fears for the elderly and the ill as temperatures continue to linger well below zero in many areas.

The level three alert is the second most serious. Level four involves a "major cold weather incident" that puts normally healthy people at risk.

Met Office forecaster Michael Lawrence said: "We have got a band of rain, sleet and snow pushing in from western parts.

"This is running over colder air and that's going to give some fairly significant snowfall, mainly in eastern and central parts of Britain and - to some extent - large parts of the UK."

The Department for Transport has said it is better prepared than ever for severe winter weather.

Salt stocks across Britain stand at more than 2.4 million tonnes - a million more than last year.

The Highways Agency has also extended its amber alert until 9am tomorrow, meaning there is a "high probability" of severe snow affecting the road network and a risk of adverse driving conditions.

Respite from the big freeze is not expected until Monday, when milder temperatures are predicted, along with overnight frost.

:: Severe cold has gripped central Europe, with both Russia and Ukraine taking extra precautions to protect homeless people, after scores of people froze to death.

As the death toll from the past week rose to at least 175, Russian emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the creation of facilities nationwide to feed and provide medical assistance to the homeless.