As snow, sleet and ice continue to affect much of the country, the Met Office is urging people to stay safe in the cold weather and to take precautions when heading outdoors. If you are going outside for a walk you should follow a "thin clothing" rule and wear several layers of light clothes, rather than one thick layer.

The Met Office warned sleet and snow is expected to continue this afternoon and evening as they issued the rare amber alert - as much as four inches (10cm) of snow is expected in the affected region

The Met Office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so warnings can be issued at any time, day or night. These can be for any extreme conditions, be they rain, thunderstorms, wind, snow, lightning, ice, extreme heat and fog.

The Met Office has issued a fresh eight-hour weather warning as the UK reels from heavy snowfall after what was expected to be the coldest night of winter so far. A new yellow warning covers large swathes of southwest England and south to mid Wales for ice, which came into place at 3am this morning and will remain until 11am.

The Met Office has issued new weather warnings for parts of the UK, with yellow warnings for ice and snow in place until Friday morning. The two new warnings cover parts of Northern Ireland and Wales as well as areas in north-west England and the east of England - they come after an existing warning for snow and ice in parts of northern Scotland.

The Met Office has issued more cold weather warnings across the UK, as bone-chilling temperatures and deadly ice are set to cause chaos. Snow showers and ice could lead to travel disruption, and injuries are also likely due to slips on the frosty surface.

Most of Cheshire has been placed under a new nine-hour snow and ice warning which comes into force tomorrow (January 9). The yellow Met Office warning starts at 3am and will last until midday. Large parts of the county are under the warning apart from some areas of East Cheshire,