Freezing conditions and heavy snowfall brought chaos to Britain's transport networktoday, shutting airports and disrupting train services.

The Met Office said temperatures fell to as low as minus 10 C overnight with as much as 25 cm of snow predicted to fall in some areas as the weather front spreads south.

There were severe warnings of heavy snow and widespread icy roads across Scotland, northern, central and western England, while more heavy snowfall was expected further south and in London later on today and tomorrow.

Manchester Airport was closed until 12 p.m. because of heavy snow and flights were being cancelled at Leeds Bradford Airport. EasyJet cancelled its morning flight from Manchester to Malta. An early afternoon Thomas Cook flight to Malta has been delayed.

Many train services across Britain suffered cancellations and delays with severely reduced services on the East Coast mainline from Scotland and northern England to London because of the poor weather.

Motorists were advised to take care if they had to travel, and the Highways Agency said "continuous salt treatment" was being carried out at high-risk areas.

High demand for gas prompted Britain's network operator National Grid to warn consumption may have to be cut, which encouraged producers to increase flows into Britain.

The Met Office has said it expected the freezing conditions to continue into late January after one of the chilliest Decembers on record.