The Met Office has issued an urgent weather warning for snow as parts of the UK continue to be blasted by brutal storms. The forecaster has issued the amber alert with a possible danger to life spanning 27 hours – from 3pm today until 6pm on Thursday.

The areas on high alert include the Scottish Highlands and Eilean Siar. It comes after parts of England were battered by snow flurries on Tuesday, with further weather warnings in place until Thursday.

Last night the coldest night of the winter so far was recorded in Dalwhinne, a village on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, with the Met Office confirming a brutal -14C was registered beating the previous -12.5C record set on December 3.

Freezing temperatures and snow will continue for much of Britain this week because of cold Arctic air before “potentially disruptive” stormy weather lands over the weekend.

A “cold plunge of Arctic air” has moved south across the whole country over the past few days, making it 5C to 6C lower than usual for this time of year, the Met Office said.