With temperatures hitting record lows of -10C in some cities and -20C in the Scottish Highlands, Britain ground to a halt as millions of workers stayed at home, 7,000 schools shut and concerns over fuel and food supplies grew with panic buying in some areas. The UK Met Office warned of more snow to come.
Air and rail commuters suffered badly; many regional airports closed including Gatwick and on the rail network nearly one in three trains were cancelled and those in service experienced long delays. Stranded rail travellers slept in train carriages.
