An inch of "Christmas card" snow was falling in North Yorkshire today.

But the Vale of York and the rest of the county was expected to miss the heavy snowfalls of up to six inches that brought travel misery to Wales, the Midlands and Scotland overnight.

AA Roadwatch reported snow problems on the A59 Harrogate to Skipton road during the morning rush-hour.

Council workers were attempting to break the ice that has formed over lakes in York. They warned people not to go on to the ice.

Snow is expected to stay on the ground for a day.

Temperatures would reach at most two degrees centigrade today and drop to minus 2C or minus 3C overnight.

Scotland is having its coldest winter for five years, with lows of minus 14C. Frozen points in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas delayed GNER and Virgin trains.

Virgin passengers were also hit by a lack of engines and coaches which caused the company to cancel trains including the 1016 Birmingham to York and 1348 York to Bristol services.

Northern Spirit reported no problems this morning. Elsewhere in the country, three weather warnings were in force and train services were widely disrupted.

In London, Underground services were suspended or delayed on several lines.