The Met Office has issued a fresh eight-hour weather warning as the UK reels from heavy snowfall after what was expected to be the coldest night of winter so far.

A new yellow warning covers large swathes of southwest England and south to mid Wales for ice, which came into place at 3am this morning and will remain until 11am.

The Government agency said in the warning: Outbreaks of rain, sleet and patchy snow spreading northeastwards on Friday morning, falling onto frozen ground, may lead to some icy patches on untreated surfaces for a time.

“Any accumulating snow will be largely reserved for hills, where a patchy 1-2 cm may accumulate above 150m elevation, and a small chance of 3-5 cm over Dartmoor.

“The extent of any precipitation across the north and east of the warning area, for example across Wales, is more uncertain, and it may remain largely dry here.”

The public has been told to keep themselves and their families safe in the icy conditions.

On X the forecaster warned that today “will start very cold with a severe frost and some ice and freezing fog in places” with it brutally set to stay “below freezing well into the morning”.

Separate Met Office warnings for ice are in place for much of the Midlands, North West England, Eastern England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is also a warning for snow and ice in northern Scotland that runs until 10am.

This week has seen some of the coldest nights of the year. Last night, temperatures are expected to have plunged as low as -20C in the valleys of Scotland.

As icy conditions persist, motorists are urged to stick to major roads most likely to have been gritted.

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest demand for rescues in three days since December 2022.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has said that at least 300 properties have been flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.

The agency said heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire, and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands.