UK weather forecast: Britons warned of wintry showers and ice after gale-force winds cause disruption

Britons have been warned of potentially dangerous conditions as wintry showers hit and patches of ice blanketed parts of the country overnight.

Commuters across the UK will face a wet and windy start to Wednesday morning as showers move in from the west, with temperatures climbing only as high as 9C.

And the icy patches and rain may lead to some travel disruption in Scotland, with a weather warning issued overnight expected to remain in place until 10am.

It comes after a crane partially collapsed on a building site in south-west London on Tuesday evening amid high winds across the capital.

The fallen machinery is not thought to have caused any injuries and it was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the weather.

Meanwhile, Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge warned there is a risk of hail and thunder in northern parts of the country and a wet and “breezy” day as showers move in from the west.

“It will generally be a pretty cold day, with maximum temperatures of around 9C. But with that breeze it could feel colder," he said.

“There is also a risk of hail and maybe a bit of thunder in some areas of Scotland and northern England” he continued, adding that the east of England would also see showers in the afternoon.

South-easterly areas will see the highest temperatures of up to 9C on Wednesday while temperatures of between 4C to 7C are expected for the rest of the country.

Mr Partridge said large parts of the country would also be hit with outbreaks of rain throughout the day as the nation goes to the polls for the General Election on Thursday.

He said: “Thursday will generally be quite a wet day, with outbreaks of rain across the south-west moving north-eastwards and affecting almost all of the UK.”

It was previously thought that Tuesday would bring Storm Brendan to the shores of the UK but the Met Office later said there will not be enough of an impact from winds to warrant a storm name.

Turbulent air from Storm Attiyah caused "mountainous seas" off the coast of Ireland on Sunday, according to the Irish Met Office, and 70mph winds have swept the UK since.