Thousands of school pupils across the north of Scotland are off school because of snow and freezing weather. Highland Council said almost 140 schools and 100 nurseries were shut while 38 schools in Aberdeenshire and five in Shetland were closed.

More sleet, rain, snow and ice is expected with further snowfall of up to 15cm on higher ground according to forecasters.

A yellow alert for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland runs until midnight on Thursday.

A new Met Office warning for snow and ice has been issued for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, coming into effect just as the most recent warning ends at 12pm today.

Forecasters warn of difficult driving conditions as workers and school pupils return after the Christmas break.

Hundreds of schools are closed for the fourth day running as the UK endures an icy blast, with temperatures hitting as low as minus 16C. Snow and sleet began to hit southern England on Wednesday afternoon as an amber weather warning came into force,

The torrid weather of the weekend has only continued into this week with much of the UK seeing snow, sleet and ice. Wednesday saw yellow weather warnings placed across the country, including in Southern England,

The Met Office has issued several warnings for snow and ice this week, with temperatures plunging to well below freezing in some areas. An Arctic blast has tipped out a massive amount of snow over the last few days.