Forecasters are predicting an Arctic blast to sweep across Britain late on Sunday evening.

Two thousand gritters are on standby for the weekend after 10-20cm of snow is predicted to fall over high ground in western Scotland while up to 10cm is expected to fall across the rest of the UK.

The Met Office has already issued a severe weather warning for ice this morning (5 December), in parts of Northumberland and Cumbria and all of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"An ice warning is out for Friday morning, but Friday, Sunday and Monday nights look coldest, with -6C possible locally in the north and -4C in the south," Mark Wilson, meteorologist at the Met Office told the Mirror.

"On Friday, a covering of snow is expected on ground above 200m in the west and north, including north Wales, north-west England and western Scotland and possibly Dartmoor. 5-10cm could fall in western Scotland, with 1-2cm elsewhere.

"Snow is also expected on Sunday in the same areas and same height, with the risk of 2-5cm on Dartmoor, 5-10cm in Cumbria and 10-20cm on the highest ground of western Scotland."

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