The Beast from the East has brought significant snowfall to Suffolk and Essex overnight. Find out here if your child’s school has been forced to close to pupils.

Yesterday’s freezing temperatures resulted in two schools in Suffolk and Essex closing their doors.

Exning Primary School, near Newmarket, was forced to close because it had no water supply, while St Luke’s Primary School in Tiptree had to close because one of its two boilers was broken.

Due to the cold weather, it meant the school was unable to heat the building to a minimum level.

East Anglian Daily Times: Silvia Nunes out with her umbrella, during heavy snowfall in Thetford. Picture: IAN BURTSilvia Nunes out with her umbrella, during heavy snowfall in Thetford. Picture: IAN BURT (Image: Archant 2018)

Fressingfield Primary School in Suffolk has already announced it will be closed to pupils today due to “a failure of the boiler system”.

Further heavy snow is expected to descend on Suffolk between 2am and noon today (Tuesday, February 27), with forecasters predicting it to be the coldest winter since 1991.

At St Helen’s Primary School in Ipswich, staff have been forced to close the school because of a gas leak.

Headteacher Kate Hodgetts said: “As pupils were leaving school yesterday staff and parents detected a smell of gas.

“The school promptly rang National Grid who came out immediately and confirmed that due to an increase in gas flow a leak had occurred.

“They immediately set to work making the area safe and then began digging up part of the alleyway and playground to reach the valve.

“They worked through last night’s snow but could not get hold of the part they needed last night.

“They will continue to work on fixing the fault today but advised that the school should remain empty today as a precaution.”

Forecaster Dan Holley, from Weatherquest, said: “It is one of the snowiest patches of weather we have seen for some time. “There is a chance we will see more that 5-10cm of snow.”