North braced for wintry blast

Parts of Britain are braced for more snow, sleet and hail today as the winter cold snap continues to bite.

Northern areas are set to be the worst affected, with severe weather warnings issued for Scotland, but the south of the UK will be spared the snow.

Lindsay Dovey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "In western Scotland and north-west England there will be snow over the high ground, and sleet and hail at low levels.

"Gusts of wind up to 60mph are expected across western parts of northern England, and temperatures will range from 1C (33.8F) in Scotland to 11 (51.8F) in the south of Britain."

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Scotland, with the heaviest snow forecast in the north and north west regions.

Orkney and Shetland will also face gale force winds which will become severe this morning.

Motorists across the UK were warned to take care on the roads as icy conditions made driving treacherous in northern areas yesterday.

The M8 was closed westbound at junction six because of a jack-knifed HGV and diesel on the road, while the junction six slip road to the westbound carriageway was also closed. Drivers were told to approach the area with caution and follow the diversions.

The A77 northbound carriageway was closed at the B7038 Kilmarnock junction because of an accident and the westbound carriageway of the Clydeside Expressway in Glasgow was also closed.

Police said a car skidded on the ice and hit the barrier shortly after 6am.

Warnings were also issued for high winds on the Skye Bridge, icy conditions on the B833 and freezing conditions on the A83 at Tarbert.

The first bout of wintry weather also brought disruption to Scotland's roads on Monday, and left some schools and airports closed.

In the north of England, icy conditions were believed to have led to the death of a lorry driver on the A160 in north Lincolnshire who lost control of his Scania vehicle at about 4.14am on Monday.