UK weather: England hit by coldest night of winter as temperatures plummet to -9C

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for ice across the UK

Kelvingrove park in Glasgow, where a teacher was involved in a fatal sledging accident. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Severe weather warnings have been issued across swathes of the UK as temperatures plummeted overnight to the coldest on record this winter.

Upper Lambourn in Berkshire saw the coldest temperatures in the UK, with residents there experiencing chills of - 9C.

The biting weather will continue later today as temperatures hover around freezing in many towns and cities in northern England.

The Met Office has issued yellow “be aware” warnings for ice across parts of northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning.

A spokeswoman for The Met Office told The Independent areas further north could be particularly affected by icy conditions.

"That will clear as we go through to Saturday morning and experience a slight increase in temperatures, although weather in the north and west will probably dip below freezing again," she said.

“We have this rain system moving through that is falling on frozen ground as temperatures dip so the water is freezing, causing an issue on untreated roads and pavements, especially in northern areas first thing tomorrow morning."

The Met Office said the brisk conditions will ease slightly on Saturday, with some sunshine forecast for many places and temperatures of up to 7C in the south-east of England.