Weather: Snow Disrupts Travel Across Britain

Heavy snowfall has disrupted travellers across the extreme South East as wild weather continues to lash parts of Britain.

Continuous snowfall has been forecast in Hampshire, Eastbourne and Hastings, causing treacherous conditions on the roads.

Hundreds of motorists are currently stuck on the A23 near Handcross, West Sussex, following snowfall.

Further north, intense showers and possible snowfall was due across Suffolk, Essex and the London area, with gusty winds of up to 55mph.

Snow showers have also been expected along coastal areas off the North Sea.

The southern counties of England have so far taken the brunt of the heavy, repeated snow showers.

Eastern and central parts of Scotland have been hit by poor weather conditions, and a dusting of snow is expected in all other areas of the country.

Strong winds have added to drivers' problems with falling trees blocking some roads, while on the trains poor rail conditions have led to delays in Sussex and Hampshire.

The Highways Agency reported congestion caused by the snowy conditions, with the A20 closed east of the M20.

The agency also reported problems on the M20 near the M25, caused by jack-knifed vehicles.

By 12.30pm on Monday, there were yellow weather warnings in place across the south east coast of England, and northern and eastern parts of Scotland.

Jersey Airport was shut due to snow, and on the roads there were hazardous conditions on many major routes.

Blizzard conditions were reported on the M40 in Warwickshire and there were numerous morning rush-hour accidents.

Strong winds added to drivers' problems, with falling trees blocking some roads.

On the trains, poor rail conditions led to delays in Sussex and Hampshire, while there was also a number of signalling problems.

The closure of Jersey Airport meant a number of flights had to be cancelled.

On the roads, there were hazardous driving conditions on the A69 and A6 in Cumbria and on the A54 in Cheshire.

In Sussex, police said there had been "a number" of crashes caused by the snowy conditions as they warned motorists to take extra care on the roads.

While drivers contended with heavy snow on the M40 in Warwickshire, motorists in Wales had to put up with strong winds.

One lane of the M48 Severn Bridge was closed and falling trees blocked some Welsh roads.

Some of the roads where driving conditions were at their worst today included the A46 in Nottinghamshire, the A14 in Suffolk and the A353 in Dorset.

Fallen trees blocked roads in Newquay in Cornwall and in Lynton in Devon.

Condor Ferries services between Jersey and St Malo were affected by the bad weather.

Up to 10cm (4in) are likely to settle in the worst-affected areas, including Kent, Sussex and southern Hampshire, as well as over higher ground in areas like the Pennines, while large areas could see around up to 4cm (1.6in) accumulate.

After snowfall on Monday and Tuesday, temperatures will remain below freezing in many areas for the next few days, with minimum temperatures as low as -7C.

Ladbrokes said they have been forced to slash the odds of snow reappearing across Easter weekend, March 29 to April 1.

On Sunday evening it was even money for snow to fall in any major city, and there is a 4/1 chance it is the coldest Easter on record, the bookmaker said.

Spokeswoman Jessica Bridge said: "The odds of snow falling over Easter are dropping as quick as the temperatures."