Widespread snow is expected to fall across England and Scotland as the severe weather continues to take hold of Britain.

The end of the cold snap is not yet in sight

Many areas will see up to three centimetres of snow mark the early days of December, while 15 centimetres are predicted to fall in the Scottish mountains.

Edinburgh, the Pennines, the Peak District, County Durham, Yorkshire, Norfolk and East Anglia are all expected to be affected.

Temperatures have dropped to -6C in many parts of Britain, from central Scotland through to Cumbria and Buckinghamshire.

The Met Office has issued a low-level warning of severe weather across most of Scotland, north and east England and north Wales because of the freezing temperatures and snowfall.

Cold temperatures will remain and scattered showers will spread across from the east to the west. The end of the cold snap is not yet in sight, with the freezing temperatures due to last into next week, possibly followed by more snow.

The white start to the month was enough to prompt record numbers of punters to place bets on snow falling on Christmas Day. According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, more money has been staked on a white Christmas than by any other December 1 in its history.

Friday night’s snowfall came after 10 days of flooding misery in the UK, where much of southwest England, the Midlands and north Wales were hit by heavy rainfall and gusty winds.

During this period three people died, hundreds were evacuated from their homes, and thousands of motorists were left stranded as roads were quickly smothered by surging floodwater.

Around 150 alerts were in place yesterday, with nearly 20 flood warnings – where the risk of flooding is expected – in the southeast of England and the Midlands.

That number dropped to 120 by lunchtime and plateaued, and an agency spokeswoman said there was no immediate risk of further flooding as a direct result of the overnight snowfall.

Emergency services and breakdown companies have also warned motorists to take extra care as the cold weather tightens its grip on the whole country.

The AA reported record flood-related call-outs at the height of the travel disruption last month, as landslides and debris brought parts of Britain’s transport network to its knees, prompting motorists to take a chance on the roads.

The AA said it was particularly busy in London, having been called out to reports of flat batteries as Christmas shoppers returned to find their vehicles unable to start.

Meanwhile, commuters yesterday faced delays after signal failures and due to extreme weather. National Rail said a signalling problem is causing disruption at London Bridge.

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