Snow falls on England's east coast beaches

Parts of the eastern side of England have been blanketed in a layer of snow as forecasters warned of possible disruption and plunging temperatures.

After no real snow on the coast of East Anglia for about four years, this was the scene on Southwold beach in Suffolk at dawn:

Police forces across the country issued warnings to drivers to beware of icy roads on Thursday.

In East Yorkshire, the seaside town of Bridlington was looking festive - in November:

The Met Office's weather warning earlier for the eastern UK said: "Wintry showers will bring an additional hazard and may lead to 2cm to 5cm of snow accumulating on ground above 100m, primarily over northern Scotland and north-east England.

"Some roads and railways are likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services."

A couple of miles inland near Bridlington, Burton Agnes Hall was looking picturesque:

In North Yorkshire, Scarborough's gone white as well, photographed by BBC Weather Watcher "godinspells":

And one dog seemingly had the time of his life when he discovered the simple joy of snow:

Weather forecasters have said Thursday night could be the coldest of the season so far, and more snow could fall on eastern areas later.

In Lincolnshire, @melvynprior tweeted this picture from Holton-le-Cley, inland just south of Grimsby:

In Norfolk, it's been snowing, but not fully settling in Norwich, but staff at The Murderers pub in the city centre managed to fashion a mini snowman on an outside table:

Back in neighbouring Suffolk, the snowy Lowestoft coastline was greeted by a rainbow in the distance:

BBC weather presenter Rebecca Graham said snowfall was due to come "further inland into the East Midlands, the South East and Kent - a mix of snow and sleet, chopping and changing between the two".

She added: "The showers will lessen overnight, although rain will increase, and we will then be left with drier conditions across the country over the weekend."

Earlier on Teesside:

In Tyne and Wear, Russell Ward tweeted this picture of the cranes on the docks at Sunderland:

And BBC Look North journalist Jonathan Swingler tweeted a "happy cow at the Penshaw Monument", which is to the west of Sunderland:

However, in London, there was not quite so much snow:

For the latest forecast, visit BBC Weather.