‘Beast from the East’ brings snow and disruption

Heavy snow has hit Britain with warnings of disruption to roads and public transport.

The wintry blast, dubbed “the Beast from the East”, swept into the UK on Monday morning.

Train services are expected to be cancelled or delayed as the snow sets in.

People are being warned to check on elderly or vulnerable neighbours during the cold spell.

Amber warnings of snow have been issued by the Met Office for north-east, central and south-eastern England on Tuesday, and eastern Scotland on Wednesday.

It warned that some rural communities could become cut off, with power outages and disruption to mobile phone services likely.

By the middle of the week, the majority of Britain is being warned of the potential for delays on the roads, trains and in the air.

A less severe yellow warning for snow is in place from Monday to Wednesday.

Greater Anglia (GA) said it was limiting its services from Monday in anticipation of the snowy blast.

South Eastern urged passengers to finish their journeys before 6pm on Monday to avoid potential disruption.

Transport for London (TfL) warned passengers to check ahead of their journeys as disruptions were possible on Underground and Overground services due to the low temperatures forecast.

Train operator C2C also warned of limited services, advising trips after 9pm on Monday could be altered or cancelled.

The wind chill, which could see parts of the UK feeling as cold as minus 15C (5F), rivals the temperatures forecast for parts of northern Norway and Iceland.

The Met Office said that by the end of Wednesday, more than 20cm of snow may have accumulated in some parts of eastern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.