Snow will spread across the UK as the big freeze tightens its grip, forecasters said yesterday.

The cold spell has already seen record low temperatures in some parts of the country, with both Wales and Northern Ireland recording the coldest November night since records began.

The mercury at Llysdinam near Llandrindod Wells in Wales plunged to minus 17.3C on Saturday night, while Lough Fea in Northern Ireland hit minus 9.2C.

With much of the country blanketed in snow, Shawbury in Shropshire also dropped to minus 12.5C and Church Fenton in North Yorks bottomed out at minus 11.9C.

So far Scotland and the North East have been worst hit, with 40 centimetres of snow, and police advising people to stay indoors for all but essential travel.

As the front moves west the rest of the country is also likely to be blanketed.

Aisling Creevey, of Meteo­Group, the weather division of the Press Association, said Londoners should also prepare for the possibility of snow tonight.

She said: “The snow will become more widespread from tomorrow evening and most places will get a dusting.

“There will be an increasingly high wind chill during the week and it will feel really raw.”

Many areas will see temperatures remain below zero tomorrow, while the warmest place will be the South East, which will experience a balmy 4C.

The Arctic conditions have been caused by a combination of light winds, snow cover and clear skies - and could see readings down to minus 20C in Scotland later this week.

The UK’s lowest ever recorded temperature in November was minus 23.3C recorded in Braemar, in the Scottish Highlands, on November 14, 1919.

Met Office severe weather warnings were in place along the east coast today with heavy snow from Scotland, down through the North East, Yorkshire and Humber and East Midlands.

Temperatures struggled to get above freezing, even in the big cities.

The severe conditions could last well into this week, forecasters warned, with rain, sleet and snow.

Several airports were disrupted with Edinburgh closed due to heavy snow and Aberdeen suffering delays after snow-clearing and de-icing took place.

Newcastle International, Luton and Jersey also suffered disruption.

A number of sporting events were affected by the bad weather over the weekend.

In the Scottish Premier League today matches Dundee United vs Rangers and Motherwell vs Hearts were both postponed after pitches became unplayable and fears were raised about the state of the roads.