Early morning snowfall has been recorded in parts of the UK, with the Met Office declaring it a White Christmas.

Reports of snow had come in from Leconfield in Humberside and Wattisham in Suffolk as of 5am on Christmas morning.

The Met Office had said Christmas Day is likely to be clear and dry for most, but showers in eastern areas of England had the potential to bring sleet or snow in the morning.

It comes amid widespread flooding around the country with people rescued from vehicles and others evacuated from their homes following a period of heavy rain.

The arrival of Storm Bella on Boxing Day will bring further downpours and winds of up to 60-70mph in exposed coastal locations.

Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office, told the PA news agency on Thursday: “Christmas Eve night into Christmas Day is going to be very cold, with harsh widespread frost first thing Christmas morning.

“So it could be a ‘white’ Christmas in as much as lots of people are going to wake up to a frost.

“They’ll be very light, scattered, not everywhere will see them by any means, and for most areas it’s going to be a pretty dry day, just cold, but there is a chance we could see a few showers of snow across eastern parts of England, particularly early on Christmas Day.”

However, the focus for many will be on the rain that has already fallen after the wet conditions brought flooding including in the Midlands.

On Thursday, the Environment Agency issued two severe flood warnings for the River Nene in Northamptonshire, indicating a risk to life.

Across England, a total of 93 flood warnings and 122 flood alerts, as well as the two severe flood warnings, remained in force at 11am on Christmas Day as huge amounts of water flowed through river catchments.

Northamptonshire Police continued to urge people to stay away from the Billing Aquadrome holiday park on Friday, after hundreds were evacuated on Christmas Eve due to high water levels on the River Nene.

The force said on Twitter that water levels had reached 5ft in some places, with emergency services using boats to take residents in the worst-hit areas to safety.

Most of those evacuated were able to find overnight accommodation with friends and family, with a special exemption from Covid-19 restrictions, while about 100 people were transferred to a hotel.

Detective Superintendent Jamie Piscopo said: “Emergency services are working hard to ensure residents can return to the site as soon as possible, however it is not currently safe to do so.

“We’d urge them to stay away until such time it is safe to do.”

A major incident was declared by Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service on Thursday evening – with five crews and four specialist water teams searching 1,100 caravans – but this was stood down on Friday.

The force previously responded to 250 incidents following heavy rain, deploying crews to pump out properties and stranded vehicles.

Properties in various parts of the country, including East Anglia and Gloucester, were also flooded as there was up to two inches of rainfall in some areas.

The Met Office said conditions across the UK will turn increasingly unsettled through to December 27, with strong winds and heavy rain moving in from the north.

An amber national severe weather warning has been issued for parts of south Wales and across southern England, with gusts expected to reach up to 60-70mph in exposed coastal locations.

A yellow warning for wind for the whole of England and Wales as well as the far south of Scotland has also been issued and will be in force from 3pm on Boxing Day.