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The Mayor of London has opened emergency cold weather shelters for London’s homeless people as temperatures plummet across the capital.

Sadiq Khan urged followers on social media to report sightings of rough sleepers across the city to homeless charity Streetlink as temperatures fell below freezing overnight.

In posts on Twitter and Facebook he wrote: “We've opened emergency cold-weather shelters to help those sleeping rough in tonight’s freezing weather.

“If you see someone sleeping rough in this cold weather, please help by reporting it.”

Mr Khan also warned Londoners to “stay warm” and “look after each other”.

He shared advice from NHS England encouraging people to keep an eye on elderly neighbours during cold snaps.

It came as the Met Office issued a weather warning over dangerous icy patches in parts of the country.

The mercury plunged to zero in the early hours of Thursday morning and is set to rise no higher than 4C during the day.

Charles Powell from the Met Office said: "Temperatures will be getting lowish, with some dropping below freezing.

"The icy conditions are likely to be seen in the east where some showers are expected. But the cloud means temperatures will not be desperately low."