People are battling with treacherous conditions after sub-zero temperatures followed days of heavy snow to leave icy roads and pavements across the UK. Thousands of schools remain shut and transport disruption continues. UK-wide severe weather warnings of ice are in place, with temperatures staying near freezing. Conditions on side roads are a "nightmare", forecasters say. Temperatures fell to -18C overnight in places and the Arctic conditions are expected to continue for up to a week.

About 4,000 homes in Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire and Berkshire are currently without electricity because of trees falling on power lines and ice triggering safety mechanisms. Up to 25,000 homes have been affected by power cuts in southern England since Wednesday morning. A Eurostar train from Brussels to the UK had broken down in the tunnel at 0830 GMT, a company spokesman confirmed. He denied the cold weather had caused the problems and said a rescue train had been sent to pull the train out. All the major airports previously affected by snow, including Glasgow, Luton, Birmingham and Cardiff, are operating normally but passengers have been warned to expect delays. Jersey Airport is closed until at least 1000 GMT.

Budget airline Easyjet has cancelled nearly 70 flights on Thursday, most of them at Gatwick where 136 inbounds and outbound flights were cancelled. Forty people worked overnight to de-ice the runway. British Airways has also cancelled some flights, and warned of delays at both Heathrow and Gatwick.

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