Thousands of school pupils across the north of Scotland are off school because of snow and freezing weather. Highland Council said almost 140 schools and 100 nurseries were shut while 38 schools in Aberdeenshire and five in Shetland were closed.

The torrid weather of the weekend has only continued into this week with much of the UK seeing snow, sleet and ice. Wednesday saw yellow weather warnings placed across the country, including in Southern England,

The Met Office has issued several warnings for snow and ice this week, with temperatures plunging to well below freezing in some areas. An Arctic blast has tipped out a massive amount of snow over the last few days.

The alert will run for 24 hours from midday, covering Grampian, the Highlands, Orkney & Shetland, Dumfries & Galloway and across Ayrshire.