A Met Office severe weather warning for snow on Thursday now covers parts of north and east Cornwall for the afternoon and evening. Most of Devon is covered by the warning.

Forecasters say: ’Snow showers, initially affecting Northern Ireland and southwest Scotland, will progressively extend southeast to affect the rest of the warning areas during Thursday.

’There is the potential for disruption to transport networks with longer journey times. Icy stretches on untreated roads and pavements are also possible.

’Around 2 cm of snow is possible even to low levels in places. 5-10 cm is possible on high ground above about 200m.’