Region's coldest night forces safari park to close

A safari park has been forced to close due to plummeting temperatures, which hit the lowest in the East of England for almost a decade.

Woburn Safari Park said it would not open on Thursday as the Bedfordshire site saw overnight temperatures of -12.7C (9.14F) - the coldest night in the region since January 2013 and the coldest December night since 2010.

The park said: "We apologise for the inconvenience, but we are unable to open today due to the weather conditions and the safety concerns that this causes for visitors and animals."

It said it hoped to reopen again on Friday.

Dan Holley, from Norwich-based Weather Quest, said: "This may be the coldest of this spell - it'll be close the next couple of nights, but perhaps not quite as low as -13C."

Unofficial stations in parts of the region with snow cover have reported temperatures as low as -16C (3.2F), he added.

On Tuesday, temperatures of -10.7C (12.7F) were reported overnight in Andrewsfield, near Braintree, Essex.

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