Picture gallery: Blanket of snow on North York Moors

Temperatures fell to -3C in Bainbridge, North Yorkshire and at Eskdalemuir in southern Scotland, and was below freezing across many northern parts of the UK.

Nick Prebble, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, warned there would be a sprinkling of snow along some parts of eastern England on Tuesday, but said most of the country would be dry.

He said: “There will be sub-zero temperatures across much of the UK over the next few nights. South-west England will be a bit milder, but otherwise it will be a bit cold. We are going to see some snow showers in eastern parts of England. Wintry showers will come off the North Sea, so bordering counties could see another centimetre or two of snow where it does fall. But elsewhere it should be fairly dry.”

Temperatures in London will get to around 3C, and the warmest place in the country will be Cornwall, which will get to around 8C. But they are expected to plunge to around -8C on Wednesday night, with the possibility of more light snow flurries.

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning, predicting severe weather for all of England and warning the public to be prepared for the risk of disruption.