Schools closed and travel disrupted in parts of UK after heavy snow

Hundreds of schools have been shut and travel severely disrupted, after heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures across the UK.

Train services and flights have been cancelled, while road travel has been made impossible in parts of northern Scotland, as many people return to work and school following the Christmas break.

Amber warnings for heavy snow in northern Scotland were in place overnight, with less severe yellow warnings for snow and ice covering much of the rest of the UK.

NHS bosses warn the cold weather is likely to increase pressure on the health service, at what is often the busiest week of the year.

Hospitals are especially busy in early January, as more people pick up illnesses while socialising indoors over Christmas when there is also less community healthcare available.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has amber cold weather alerts for England running until Friday - warning that temperatures are likely to impact people's health.

Met Office amber weather warnings were in place for snow across Shetland, Orkney and parts of northern mainland Scotland until the morning.

Heavy snowfall over recent days has resulted in more than 40cm reported in parts of Moray already.

The Met Office is warning that up to another 30cm of fresh snow may have accumulated by mid-morning.

Parts of Scotland have a yellow snow and ice warning in place until the end of Monday - with the potential for another five to 10cm of snow at low levels, and 20 to 30cm on high ground for much of the Highlands and Aberdeenshire areas, Orkney, Shetland, and Outer Hebridean Islands.

Meanwhile, yellow weather warnings for snow and ice cover west Wales, parts of south-west England and north-east England until 11:00 on Tuesday.

In Northern Ireland, a similar warning was in place between Saturday and Monday morning.

Sumburgh Airport in Shetland and Kirkwall Airport in Orkney remain closed. Aberdeen Airport is open, but flights to destinations including Amsterdam, Dublin and London Heathrow have been cancelled.

Scottish regional airline Loganair has cancelled its flights from Aberdeen and Inverness.

On the trains, strong winds have been causing drifting, with Network Rail Scotland reporting snow drifts up to 1.2m (4ft) on the line between Aberdeen and Dundee.

No LNER services will be running north of Edinburgh, with no rail replacement service in place.

There will also be no services running on a number of ScotRail routes in northern Scotland until at least midday.

Meanwhile, hundreds of schools in northern Scotland will stay shut after the Christmas holidays on Monday.

All schools in Aberdeenshire are closed for the day, as are more than 60 schools and nurseries in Moray.

Nurseries and schools in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles are also shut until further notice.

Sunday night was the coldest night of the winter so far for England and Wales, with the temperature in Shap, Cumbria falling to -10.9C.

In England, flights have been grounded at Liverpool John Lennon Airport after its runway had to be closed "due to the wintry weather conditions", with teams "out clearing the snow and ice".

No flights have yet taken off on Monday. Some have been cancelled with others delayed until at least 14:00.

In Northern Ireland, there have been cancellations on inbound and outbound flights at Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Airport, due to the weather.

The runway at the City of Derry Airport was also closed for snow and ice clearance.

There are no Transport for Wales services on Monday between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog, and between Machynlleth and Pwllheli.

National Rail said customers intending to travel on the latter route will not be able to travel, with no replacement bus service available.

It has also warned train passengers that the warnings could affect affect travel across England, Wales and Scotland until Tuesday.

In Wales, emergency services have been called to motorists stranded in the snow, with bus services suspended due to "atrocious" driving conditions.

The Met Office has highlighted the risk of longer journey times by road and rail on Monday and Tuesday morning, as well as the potential for slips and falls on pavements and cycle routes.

Dozens of schools in Wales have been closed due to health and safety concerns, with those in Gwynedd and Rhondda Cynon Taf are among the worst affected.

In Northern Ireland over 170 schools have been closed - a full list is available here.

Clear skies on Sunday night brought plunging temperatures as England and Wales registered their coldest night of the winter so far. The mercury dropped to -10.9C at Shap in Cumbria and -9.9C at Bala in Gwynedd.

Scotland and Northern Ireland also had an extremely cold night, with lows of -9.3 at Tulloch Bridge in Highland and -6.6C at Killylane in County Antrim.

Temperatures in parts of Scotland will struggle to get above freezing for the first full week of the year, and fresh snowfall is possible across parts of England and Wales through this week.

Later in the week, strong winds and heavy rain could bring an additional hazard as a deep area of low pressure sweeps across the UK.

Late on Thursday and overnight into Friday it is expected to approach from the south-west and move across the southern half of the UK.

Cold air to the north will interact with milder air to the south, bringing a risk of strong winds and heavy rain. There is also a chance of more widespread snowfall too.

The timing and exact position of the low pressure will determine the exact impacts, and these details will be firmed up over the coming days.

Meanwhile, cold weather health alerts from the UK Health Security Agency remain in place across all of England until Friday.

The HSA warns that the prolonged cold spell could lead a rise in deaths, particularly among the elderly or those with underlying health conditions.

In Plymouth, four city centre churches have opened their doors to the homeless due to the drop in temperatures, and will offer hot drinks, clean bedding and specialist support.

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