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In pictures: Britain blanketed by snow as 'Beast from the East' causes -10c chaos

A red ‘extreme’ weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for parts of the country as the ‘Beast from the East’ continues to wreck havoc around the UK.

Thousands of schools have shut for a fourth day this week, motorway traffic jams left drivers stranded for hours on the M20 and the National Grid has warned the UK will not have enough gas to meet demand on Thursday.

Temperatures dipped as low as minus 10.3C in Moray, Scotland, last night.

Parts of the UK are set to feel colder than the Arctic Circle with temperatures hitting -15c as the week draws to an end.

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Met Office meteorologist Martin Bowles said temperatures of -8C are expected widely across the rest of the country.

Mr Bowles said: ‘We haven’t had temperatures that low in late February since 2013. It’s not unheard of. There are records that are lower than that.

‘We refer to March 1 as being the first day of spring and of course March 1 will be right in the middle of this cold spell, so spring will be postponed for a couple of weeks, shall we say.’