Thursday night was the coldest of the winter so far as temperatures plunged to as low as -10.7C (12.7F).

The low was recorded by the Met Office at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, beating the previous mark of -10.5C (13.1F) recorded on 3 January in Braemar.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for possible snow on hills in the south of Scotland, northern England and the north Midlands from 1pm on Friday and through the evening. A yellow warning of hill snow in Wales was in place until 1pm.

It said some roads and railways were likely to be affected as a band of rain, sleet and snow moved slowly east across England and southern Scotland, and 1-4cm of snow could accumulate in the highest areas.

Alex Burkill, of the Met Office, said Wales could expect snow. Winter’s here now properly. It feels like winter and the weather’s resembling it. I think in Wales, many places are likely to see some sleet or snow.”