60-hour snow and ice warning issued for Essex

The Met Office alerts will come into effect at noon on Saturday, covering all of Sussex, London and Essex.

The warning (below) also extends north, covering the entire east coast of Britain.

The Met Office weather warning for snow and ice issued on Saturday and Sunday, February 6 and 7 Credit: Met Office

It will remain in place until midnight on Sunday, before being replaced by a fresh 24-hour snow and ice warning throughout Monday (below).

A Met Office spokesman said: "Snow showers in the far north-east of the UK will spread southwards.

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"Chance of heavier snow for a time in the south... with the more persistent snow from Sunday in the south-east pulling away, the UK is expected to be affected by a cold, easterly wind, with snow showers.

"These will develop over sea areas and be blown inland, with some places possibly seeing quite frequent although mainly light showers.

The Met Office weather warning for snow and ice issued on Monday, February 8 Credit: Met Office

"Some places however, will miss these altogether. Where they do occur, 1-4cm of additional snow is most probable for the majority of areas, perhaps 3-7cm over higher ground exposed to the east."

As a result of the freezing conditions forecast, the Met Office has warned people to prepare for the possibility of disruption to travel.

The weather service has told people to expect:

• A small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel
• A small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected
• A slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
• A small chance that untreated pavements and cycle paths become impassable