EAST Anglia will wake up to a layer of frost this morning as temperatures plunge - and forecasters said there was an outside possibility of snow later in the week.

John Howard

EAST Anglia will wake up to a layer of frost this morning as temperatures plunge - and forecasters said there was an outside possibility of snow later in the week.

West Suffolk could be the worst hit area as a blanket of cold weather heads south, bringing a wave of sleet and snow.

It comes after about an inch of snow fell in the north west of England and Scotland yesterday, with temperatures falling to as low as -4C in places. Hundreds of schools closed and motorists faced treacherous conditions on the roads.

Forecasters at University of East Anglia-based service WeatherQuest said the cold weather was heading towards East Anglia.

Emma Coombs, of WeatherQuest, said last night: “There is a chance that the very western parts of East Anglia will have some snow on Thursday, into the fringes of west Suffolk, and there could be a little sleet.

“The average for Suffolk at the moment is 7C to 7.5C by day and Wednesday will be well short of that.”

Miss Coombs said that by tomorrow , conditions in the county will have turned windy and wet, blustery by the afternoon with temperatures at 5C or 6C.

By Friday, there will be scattered showers, some sunshine and bright spells, and by Saturday it will be mostly dry with possibly the odd coastal shower.

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes has cut the chance of a white Christmas in London to 11/4 from 3/1 following another run of money. The bookmaker was originally offering 7/1 for snow on December 25 in the capital.

Plummeting temperatures have forced Ladbrokes to slash the odds and a white Christmas could cost bookies up to £1 million.

Nick Weinberg, spokesman for the firm, said: “We're frozen with fear at the prospect of a white Christmas. Interest in the traditional festive wager has gone into overdrive this year.”