Travel was expected to be disrupted on Friday due to warnings issued for snow and rain at opposite ends of the UK.

The Met Office placed a yellow warning across parts of central Scotland and the Highlands, adding that rural communities may become cut off, power cuts were possible and transport services were likely to be affected.

Forecasters said snowy conditions could bring “significant” disruption to travel across the region, with a warning in place from 4am on Thursday until midday on Friday.

The lowest minimum temperature recorded across the UK by 11pm on Thursday was minus 6.8C (minua 20F)  at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.

Yellow warnings for rain were in place across the Scottish coast from Perth to Aberdeen as well as further south in Devon and Cornwall early on Friday.

That warning for rain in Devon and Cornwall is repeated on Saturday, along with another for snow across much of Wales and areas including Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

It comes after large swathes of Britain were blanketed in snow last weekend, while places in northern, central England and Wales, particularly towns and villages along the River Severn, endured flooding as part of Storm Christoph.

The Met Office said the UK had experienced its snowiest spell since late January 2019, when 20 weather stations in England recorded accumulations of two inches (5cm) or more for three days consecutively.

The Environment Agency had 53 flood warnings in place at 5am on Friday, stretching from the Midlands to the North East, meaning immediate action is required.

The same area and the South West had 226 alerts meaning flooding was possible, while there were nine alerts in Scotland and eight in Wales.