UK weather latest: Live updates as heavy snow and ice sparks travel chaos with 'major incident' declared in Cumbria, flights grounded and roads closed

Mike Smith and his family were forced to stay a night in a school, along with 100 other motorists, after snow closed roads in Grizedale, Cumbria.

Mike , 39, was stranded with his partner, Saammy and three step kids after the blizzard dumped two and a half foot of white powder on mountain roads.

He had headed to the race track, near Lake Windmere, yesterday morning to watch a stage of a local car rally competition and planned to leave at around 11.30am.

But they were then left stuck for the next seven and a half hours before local police told them to leave their car and seek refuge in the nearby primary school.

Cumbria Police declared a major incident after more than a foot of snow descended on the county's roads last night.

The Arctic weather forced hundreds of people travelling in the region to ditch their vehicles and desperately seek temporary accommodation.

Social centres across the county were opened up to care for those caught in the blizzard, while over 2,500 people have been left without power.

Other areas of the UK have also been hit with freezing condtions as cold air has swept across from the north.

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Hello and welcome to MailOnline's live blog as we follow the weather across the UK today.

Follow for the latest updates as freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall, widespread frosts and freezing fog has wreaked havoc across much of the country.