UK snow LIVE: Latest updates as freezing Britain wakes as much as sub-zero temperatures and icy roads

Charities have warned of the impact of the cold weather on society’s most vulnerable people as the UK experiences what the Met Office has called “the first taste of winter”.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued the first amber cold weather health alert of the season this week and, along with charity Age UK, warned that the conditions could be dangerous for vulnerable people, including the elderly.

The amber warning covers the east and north of England, midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber, with yellow alerts coming into place for the South East, South West and London at 8am on Tuesday, lasting until 6pm on Saturday.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, from the UKHSA, said:

This is the first amber Cold Weather Health Alert of the season, but we can expect more as we approach winter, and it is vital to check in on vulnerable friends, family and neighbours to ensure they are well prepared for the onset of cold weather.

Particularly if they are elderly or otherwise at increased risk.

Here are some of the most striking photographs from the morning as snow sweeps in across the UK:

Snow covers the ground around the lake in Pavillion Gardens park in Buxton

Residents of Crook in County Durham wake upto to snow covered streets

Horses gallop through snow at a stables in Worcestershire

Man clears snow as drivers urged to avoid certain roads in northern England

Snow-covered buildings after overnight snowfall in Warwick

Motorists in England’s north have been put on notice and train services were cancelled, as National Rail warned the cold climate would impact various routes on the Northern Rail until at least 2pm today.

Impacted areas included the Bradford Interchange and Huddersfield, and also between Halifax and Hebden Bridge and Hull.

Mersey Rail issued an alert warning passengers that due to the potential of snow and ice covering tracks, the first service on each line in north west England would run without customers to ensure conditions could be checked.

Rail services between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales have been suspended due to the weather, with replacement buses running until the end of today instead.

There were also no trains this morning between Nottingham and Worksop.

National Highways issued an amber severe snow alert for roads across the North East and North West of the country. Road users were advised to take extra care and avoid the area if possible.

Affected roads included the M26 between junctions 21 and 23, the M1 at Leeds and Sheffield and the M56 at Manchester.

An Arctic blast has hit Britain with drivers getting stuck, trains cancelled and warnings of more icy weather ahead as temperatures plunged to -11.2C and snow started falling in the capital London.

Traffic problems have been reported around major cities including Leeds as the Met Office issued a severe weather warning of snow and ice – as it got as cold overnight as -11.2C in the Scottish village of Braemar and -10.7C in Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands.

The Met Office put in place yellow ‘be aware’ warnings across parts of Britain from 4pm yesterday and due to last until 10am today.

And this morning there were three yellow warnings extended until 11am, covering Northern Ireland, Scotland and from northern English cities such as Manchester and York down to the Midlands including Stoke, Leicester and Birmingham.

Britons are being told to expect icy patches on the roads and, as the cold flurries continue, a risk of power cuts and disruption to bus and train services.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest weather updates throughout the day.